Trial and Tribulations
by Richefic
Summary: When a difficult case strains relations between Gibbs and DiNozzo to the limit, neither man has any idea that their problems were only just beginning. Now complete.
1. Chapter 1

Kate typed deftly, her fingers flying over the keyboard. Every now and then she shot a slightly envious look at DiNozzo's already empty desk. Employing his new found typing skills he had blasted off his report in record time and disappeared, although the continuing presence of his backpack and jacket suggested he was still in the building. At last, she was finished, printing out a hard copy and saving the file, before e-mailing it across to Gibbs. All she wanted now was a hot shower and a chance to sleep in her own bed. Rising wearily to her feet she plucked the printed pages from the tray and made her way across to her Boss' desk.

"I'm done."

"You're not done until I say you're done, Agent Todd."

Gibbs didn't look up as he took the report, scanning its pages with a practised eye. Kate waited, trying not to fidget, as he read through her work. She was learning not to take these things too much too heart. Cases involving dead Marines always hit Gibbs hard and consequently he was always tougher on them. On this last case he had really lived up to his second B.

"Alright," Gibbs finished reading the report and tossed it into his 'in tray.' "You're done. Go home, Kate."

She didn't need telling twice.

On his other side Gibbs noticed that McGee was still sitting at his computer, although he had stopped typing some time ago. He sighed. Knowing the MIT graduate he had finished typing, checking and re-checking his report well before Kate and now was simply too scared to give it to him.

"McGee."

The junior agent's head snapped up, his eyes wide, like a rabbit caught in the headlights. "Um, y .. yes, Gibbs?"

"You finish your report?"

"Ah, yes, Gibbs, right here," McGee surged to his feet, almost knocking his chair over in the process and having to take a second to right it, before he trotted over and nervously handed a bundle of papers for his superiors' approval. Gibbs scanned the report, as he expected it was concise, factual and utterly flawless.

"Um, Gibbs, I'm .."

"You better not be about to say you're sorry again, McGee." He warned.

"The jacket," McGee shifted from side to side uncomfortably. "I should have realised sooner."

"Yeah, you should have," Gibbs gave him a level look. But he had already come down harder than he should on the probationary Agent for the oversight at the time. There was no reason to belabour the point. Scrutinising the tense and worried his face he made his next words a statement. "You'll know better next time."

"Yes Sir." McGee nodded earnestly.

"All right, McGee," He let that one slide. "Get out of here."

"Yes!" McGee celebrated, instantly deflating as Gibbs glared at him. "I mean, thank you, Sir, um I mean Boss, er Gibbs."

With a wave of his hand Gibbs made a 'go away' movement. McGee grabbed his stuff and almost ran towards the elevator.

And that just left DiNozzo.

---------------------

He tried Abby's lab first. If the younger man had taken refuge down there, things weren't so bad. Abby was good for a sympathetic ear, a bit of obvious comfort and the occasional insight into the 'workings of the inner Gibbs'. If he was truly upset, then Tony usually headed off to see Ducky, who could be relied upon to provide soothing words and sensible solutions to dealing with Gibbs more acerbic moods.

"He hasn't been here, Jethro. I do believe," Ducky's cultured tone were laced with reproach. "That Mr Palmer saw him heading towards the gymnasium."

"You sure?" Gibbs scrubbed at his face, this was worse than he'd thought.

"Young Anthony is remarkably tolerant of your outbursts, but even he had his limits."

"I know, Duck."

Determined to find justice for the little girl whose Daddy had been murdered he had driven himself and his team hard. As usual Tony had caught the worst of it. Gibbs refused to feel guilty about that. The younger man was the most experienced. Had worked with him the longest. As a former Homicide Detective he knew how these things were.

Except.

He had already legitimately given McGee a dressing down for overlooking a piece of evidence and reamed Kate out for a procedural error. No one on the base had seemed to want to co-operate with them and they didn't seem to be able to make any headway. When he had seen DiNozzo goofing off playing basketball with a group of young ensigns he had lost his temper and broken his own rule, tearing a strip off him in public.

The low, furious tone had made the hairs on the back of Tony's neck stand up. Instinctively, he had straightened, coming almost to attention; his eyes fixed straight ahead as Gibbs methodically chewed him out. Out of the corner of his eyes Gibbs' could see the base Commander's XO smirking as the tips of DiNozzo's ears turned red with embarrassment.

_"May I say something, Boss?"_

To his credit DiNozzo had waited until their audience had melted away before responding. Still, Gibbs hadn't been in the mood to cut him any slack, his eyes still glinting angrily at the impasse they found themselves in. He was not going to go back and tell that little girl that they didn't know what had happened to her Daddy.

_"Only if it has to do with solving this case."_

It had. Turned out that one of the wet behind the ears ensigns, too intimidated to confess his misdemeanour to Gibbs, had sneaked off base to see his teenaged girlfriend, but his willingness to confine in the more genial DiNozzo over a few baskets had blown Warner's alibi out of the water and closed the case.

Gibbs' rarely apologised, at least not in words. But that didn't mean he wasn't willing to accept when he had wrong. There was a difference between being a strong leader and being too pig headed to accept you had made a mistake. Contrary to what Kate might believe, Tony didn't follow him out of blind loyalty. He took his orders because he believed that Gibbs knew what he was doing.

He had to make this right.

And this time, a simple '_good job_' wasn't going to cut it.

--------------------

Tony hadn't bothered to change. Although, somewhere along the way he had lost his suit jacket and shoulder holster and his feet were bare. His eyes glittered with a dark focus, as his fists battered the punching bag, sweat staining his neck and back. At some point, he had also dispensed with the boxing gloves and was now attacking the bag with his bare knuckles. Keeping his face impassive Gibbs' moved into Tony's peripheral vision.

"You thinking of heading home anytime soon?" He asked neutrally.

There was the slightest pause in DiNozzo's rhythm, before he continued hitting the bag, even harder than before.

"I'll take that as a no," With a sigh Gibbs slipped out of his own jacket, rolling up his sleeves, even as he kicked off his shoes, before tugging off his socks by the toes. Then, taking his life into his hands he stepped into DiNozzo's personal space, and caught at his wrists, his own eyes darkening as he took in the bruising already beginning to form. "Enough."

"I'm not done yet." Tony pulled out of his grasp.

"You're done when I say you're done, DiNozzo," Gibbs almost winced as he heard the echo of his earlier words to Kate. He'd known what kind of a mood Tony was in. He should have caught up with him sooner. Now there was only one way to handle this and it wasn't going to be pretty. Deliberately he hardened his tone. "You touch that bag again and you'll be on suspension for a week."

"Then I guess its gonna be a little quieter around here."

The swing was fast, but Gibbs managed to intercept it before it hit the bag. Much to his relief, otherwise he would have had to make good on his threat. Shifting his weight he used his foot and DiNozzo's exhaustion to put him on the floor, looming over him with a glare.

"I said, _enough._ You break your hand and you'll be out longer than a week. I'll be looking for your replacement." Hauling him to his feet, Gibbs gave him a hard shove towards the mats. At worst it would cost then both a few bruises and he had to get Tony tired enough to really listen to him. Across the room he saw the new transfer Agent had paused in his workout as he watched the two of them with concern. Gibbs bit back a grin; the guy was so clueless he probably thought he was going to knock seven bells out of DiNozzo, just for the hell of it.

"You want me to save you the trouble and write out my resignation?" Finding himself on the mats Tony took up a defensive stance, balancing lightly on the balls of his feet, as he waited for Gibbs to make the first move. "Its not like I haven't had lots of practise."

"No-one resigns from my team, " Gibbs went in low and fast, only to have Tony duck left and trip him, with a tight smile, Gibbs turned the manoeuvre into a roll and came up grinning. "You sure as hell, aren't going to be the first."

"Yeah?" Tony smiled tightly, his own eyes glittering in challenge, as he caught Gibbs by the wrist and twisted him down to the mat, looking straight into his blue eyes. "Don't bet on it."

Determined to make his point, Gibbs rolled swiftly out from under him, intending to flip him over and pin him to the mat to ensure that he had the younger man's undivided attention. Except that, Tony unexpectedly shifted left so that the heel of Gibbs' hand connected solidly with Tony's nose, to the accompaniment of shattering cartilage and thick red blood.

"_Damn!_" Gibbs swore fervently as he scrambled forward and reached out to tip the agent's head, so he wasn't swallowing him own blood, only to have Tony flinch violently back from his touch.

"Don't touch me! Get your hands _off _me."

--------------------

Gibbs watched intently as Ducky knelt on the floor of the gym, carefully probing Tony's injury. The younger man sat stoically, looking straight ahead as the MD gently manipulated the damaged nose. Already, there were telling signs of swelling and bruising appearing under his eyes.

"I'm afraid it does rather look like it's broken."

"Displaced fracture, Duck?" Gibbs asked.

"I would say so, wouldn't you? Never mind dear boy," Ducky patted Tony's shoulder comfortingly. "It doesn't seem to be too serious, a quick trip to the Hospital, a spot of ice, some painkillers and you'll be right as rain."

"C'mon, DiNozzo," Gibbs offered him a hand up. "I'll take you to the ER."

Tony wouldn't look up at him as he answered. "You don't have to, Boss."

Gibbs sighed. As soon as his outburst had registered Tony's eyes had widened and he had flushed bright red before stammering through an apology worthy of McGee. Since then he had been unusually quiet and subdued, barely responding to Gibbs' gruff sympathy and not launching into even a token protest when he had called the MD down here.

"Get your ass in gear, DiNozzo." Gibbs growled.

The smallest quirk of a smile lifted the corner of Tony's mouth and some of the shadows in his eyes lifted at the sheer normalcy of his boss' tone. Reaching up to grasp Gibbs' hand he rose, only slightly unsteadily, to his feet.

"Special Agent Gibbs."

"Director," Gibbs unconsciously moved his hand to DiNozzo's back to steady him, as he turned to face his superior. "It's a little late for you, Sir."

"I'm afraid you'll have to find someone else to take Agent DiNozzo to the hospital, Agent Gibbs." Morrow's expression gave nothing away.

Gibbs jaw tensed, as his expression clearly showed his displeasure at having his plans thwarted. Tony had been skittish enough before and the accident certainly hadn't helped mattered any. He was reluctant to let him out of his sight.

"Don't worry, Jethro," Ducky read his expression easily. "I'll go with young Anthony. We'll be just fine."

"Thanks, Duck," Gibbs gave him a grateful smile. If he couldn't accompany the younger man, there wasn't anyone else he would rather have with him. He switched his gaze to DiNozzo, holding his gaze as he let his eyes soften slightly. "You _behave_. I'll be along as soon as I can."

"I'll be good." Tony gave him a wan smile.

Gibbs snorted his opinion of that, watching intently as the MD gently shepherd the younger man across the gym and into the elevator.

"We need to talk," Morrow eyed him seriously. "I'm afraid there's been a formal complaint lodged against you."

"Sir?" Gibbs blinked; such complaints were almost routine for him, given his dislike of diplomatic niceties and his complete intolerance of anyone who stood in the way of his getting the job done. "With all due respect, couldn't this wait until morning? I'd really like to see how Tony is .."

"Jethro," Morrow's tone was coloured with regret. "I'm afraid I can't allow you to speak or otherwise communicate with Agent DiNozzo until further notice."

"Tom?" Gibbs was frustrated. "What the hell's going on?"

"The complaint concerns your verbal and physical abuse of an agent under your command," Morrow met his gaze gravely. "Namely, Agent DiNozzo."

"_Tony_?"


	2. Chapter 2

Gibbs was silent as they rode the elevator on their way to Morrow's office, although the Director knew better than to take this as a good sign. Leroy Jethro Gibbs was always a force to be reckoned with and never more so than when the reputation of his team was at stake. Reaching over to bring the car to a shuddering halt he was gratified to see a trace of surprise cross Gibbs' expression at having his own tactic used against him.

"Sir, I know how it looks ..." Gibbs began.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better Special Agent Gibbs?" Morrow's tone was like ice. "Two of my best agents brawling like a couple of kids in a school playground?"

"DiNozzo was following my orders, Sir. I'm the one who moved things onto the mats."

Morrow wished he could take more comfort from the fact that Gibbs was so quick to shield his subordinate from reprisals. Unfortunately, he didn't think that would cut much ice with IA.

"And then you broke his nose."

"That was an accident, Sir."

"DiNozzo's reaction says otherwise. And so will IA."

"I'm aware of that, Sir," Gibbs sighed. "Do we know who's handling the complaint for IA?"

"Right now, I'm more interested in what's been going on with you and DiNozzo lately. You were out of line today. If IA wasn't already involved I'd be tempted to bring you up on charges myself. NCIS Agents under my command do not wash their dirty linen in public."

"I know, Sir. I was planning on talking to him."

"After you beat the crap out of him?" Morrow exploded. "Jesus Christ, Jethro, IA are going to have a field day with this."

"With all due respect, Sir, isn't there any way we could keep IA out of this?

"This isn't just about today. Apparently, IA have logged a number of complaints about your recent conduct towards DiNozzo and they seem confident that their investigation will uncover further cause for concern."

"Damn it, Tom. I am not about to screw up Tony's career with one of their dammed witch hunts!"

They both knew that once IA began digging and soliciting witness statements DiNozzo's conduct would be just as much on trial as Gibbs, every reprimand, disciplinary action and interaction with his colleagues would be picked over and held up to public scrutiny. Given some of DiNozzo's more unorthodox methods there was bound to be a whispering campaign.

"Maybe you should have thought of that before," Morrow's tone was uncompromising. "DiNozzo's one of the best young agents I've ever seen. If we lose him over this I'll kick your ass."

"Duly noted, sir."

"And stay away from him. That's an order Special Agent Gibbs. If IA catch wind that you've been in contact with DiNozzo over this they'll cite it as harassment. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Gibbs nodded sharply.

------------------------------

Tony tried not to flinch as the sight and sounds and smell of the Hospital hit him as soon as they passed through the automatic doors. Sinking into a hard plastic chair he stared at the wall, not even registering as Ducky announced them at reception and settled down beside him to fill out the required paperwork.

What the hell had he been thinking?

Gibbs had been well within his rights to ream him out today. If he had seen his senior field agent goofing off playing b-ball when there was a murder to be solved he would have torn him off a strip too. It shouldn't matter that after two years he'd hoped that Gibbs might have learnt to trust him, rather than jumping down his throat first and asking questions later. It didn't matter that he had actually cracked the case, because that was what he was being paid to do. What was important was that instead of acting like a seasoned NCIS agent he had reacted like a spoilt kid.

He was supposed to be Gibbs' senior field agent.

Not his son.

"Anthony," A light tap to his arm, alerted him to the fact that Ducky was looking at him, his expression creased with concern. "Are you quite alright?"

"I'm fine, Ducky."

The MD's expression clearly said that he didn't believe that for a moment. He opened his mouth to say something only to be interrupted by the arrival of one of the nurses from the desk.

"Excuse me, Dr Mallard? There's a call for you. Its NCIS."

"Thank you, my dear. I'll be right there."

"Its probably Jethro," Mallard patted Tony's arm as he rose. "You know how he worries."

Tony closed his eyes to slits and tracked the MD as he made his way to the nurses station, tilting his head on one side as he tried to hear what was been said over the blood pounding in his ears. He couldn't make out any of the words but the angry expression that crossed the normally genial MD's face spoke volumes. As he watched the elder man slammed down the phone and glared at it for a few moments before visibly pulling himself together and walking back to stand in front of him.

"That was Abby," Ducky's tone was tightly contained. "I'm afraid Jethro is still rather tied up with his business with the Director. He's asked her to bring along your jacket and backpack from the office. She just wanted to let us know not to leave before she gets here."

"He's really mad at me isn't he?" Tony winced.

"Actually, quite the opposite," Ducky surprised him. "Jethro is worried sick about you. He blames himself of course."

"For what?" Tony gave him a bleak look. "Hiring me in the first place?"

"You know, I am beginning to understand why our esteemed leader feels the need to smack you across the head from time to time. For an intelligent young man you really can be remarkably clueless."

"I know, he didn't mean to hit me." Tony looked away.

"But part of you feels that you deserved it," Ducky sighed, as the continued silence confirmed his suspicions. "Anthony .."

"Excuse me," The nurse interrupted. "Mr DiNozzo? The doctor will see you now."

------------------------------

"Wow, that's really spectacular," Abby whispered as she surveyed the two black eyes and the red swollen nose, from eye level as she crouched down beside Tony as he slept, head tilted back, dead to the world, despite his undeniably uncomfortable position. "Gibbs has a mean right hook."

"The most unfortunate part, is that if he actually had intended to hit the lad the damage would hardly have been as extensive," Ducky sighed. "As it was, there was rather more momentum than necessary behind the blow."

"Physics can be a bitch," Abby straightened up. "He looks so peaceful. It seems a shame to wake him."

"I don't think that will be possible my dear," Ducky frowned at the younger man's pale, drawn, features. "He was already exhausted, so I persuaded Dr Forrest to prescribe a little extra medication, to keep the nightmares at bay."

"Sneaky, Ducky. I _like_ it," Abby grinned. Then frowned. "So, how are we going to get him out of here?"

"I'm presuming you brought your car?"

"Sure. What are you going to do with yours?"

"I called young Mr Palmer. He's going to collect it for me."

Between them they placed Tony onto a gurney and loaded him into the back of Abby's hearse. He didn't stir as drove past the exit for his apartment or as they joined the highway heading out of the city. He slept soundly as they made their way through the countryside, only stirring groggily as they hit the dirt road leading to the cabin.

"Where have you been?" Gibbs greeted them. "I've been here for almost twenty minutes."

"We didn't want to wake our sleeping beauty," Ducky explained as he came around intending to help Gibbs lift Tony out of the hearse, only to see the ex-marine hefting the semi-unconscious form over his shoulder in a fireman's life. "Um, Jethro, I'm not sure that's wise. We really should avoid letting the blood rush to his head."

"It won't take a second, Duck."

True to his word, Gibbs strode effortlessly up the steps and into the cabin, crossing the small living area towards a well built pine bed, already made up with crisp cotton sheets, its comforter turned down at the base. Carefully laying his Agent down, Gibbs took a step back and got his first proper look at the damage.

"Jesus H Christ."

"Its not as bad as it looks." Ducky spoke softly from his side.

"Looks pretty bad to me, Duck," Gibbs responded shortly, as he moved around the bed, pulling off Tony's shoes and socks and removing his belt, making sure that his head was elevated to ease his breathing and pulling the comforter up over his fitfully sleeping form. "How is he?"

"That depends. How well acquainted are you with young Anthony's medical history?"

"If you are asking me if I know that Tony had his nose broken once before. Yeah, Duck, I know."

"I'm guessing from the looks on both your faces that this wasn't a bottom of the ninth, go cougars, kind of thing?" Abby joined them.

"No." Gibbs answered, his tone prohibiting any further discussion on that point.

"So, Gibbs," Abby wandered back into the lounge area looking around. "How did you rustle up this place so quickly anyhow?"

"You like it?"

"Yeah," Abby took in the carved oak table and the scrubbed wooden floorboards. "Its very you."

"Actually, its Fornell's."

"No way!" Abby beamed. "And he's letting you use it?"

"I'm sure he would have," Gibbs smiled tightly. "If I'd bothered to ask."

------------------------------

The cabin was almost in darkness. Across the room a bluish light spilled from Abby's laptop as she worked on some problem, nodding her head in time to the music on her IPod. The only other light came from the lamp beside the bed, as Gibbs turned the pages of his crime novel and kept watch over his restless Agent.

"Since I suppose its futile suggesting that you get some sleep, I thought you might need this." Ducky held out a mug of coffee.

"Thanks, Duck."

"He's going to be fine, Jethro. It really isn't as bad as it looks. An ice pack, some decongestant, and he'll be right as rain in no time."

"That's the one thing we don't have, Duck. IA have scheduled the preliminary hearing for 14.00 hours tomorrow."

"Those bastards do like their pound of flesh, don't they?" Ducky shook his head. "Maybe, I could pull a few strings. Have young Anthony excused on medical grounds?"

"Morrow's already taken care of that, Tony doesn't need to be there tomorrow. I just .. we need to get past this, Duck."

"I'm afraid I spared him the unfortunate tidings about the IA invetigation. I rather thought it best not to give him anything else to dwell on just yet."

"Did he say something, Duck?"

"It was more what he didn't say, I'm afraid. Isn't it always?"

"Damn it, Duck. I thought I was doing right by him. I've tried to be a mentor to him, to teach him the things Mike Franks taught me. Hell, I even went about it the same way. How did it all get so screwed?"

"Jethro, we both know Anthony, didn't make those complaints."

"Yeah, well. Maybe he should have done, Ducky," Gibbs voice rose. "You ever think about that?"

"I'll admit, to an outsider your relationship does seem rather unorthodox. But its only because you care, Jethro."

"You think IA are going to see it like that?"

Gibbs took a long swallow of his coffee, barely noticing as the scalding liquid made its way down this throat. There was no way he could justify his relationship with DiNozzo in terms of boss and subordinate. The fact that he acted like he did because that was what Tony needed, would be irrelevant if it didn't meet accepted guidelines. And there was no way in hell he was exposing all of the younger man's insecurities and issues with his father for all the world to see.

There was only one thing he could do.

Pulling out his phone he walked a couple of steps away from the bed, and hit his speed dial. "Gibbs. For Director."

"Jethro," Ducky asked warily. "What are you doing?"

Gibbs merely glanced at him, before turning his attention back to his call.

"Sir, I'm sorry to call so late, but I'm afraid this can't wait. I've considered my position and I've decided to resign. Effective immediately."


	3. Chapter 3

AN – I was very concerned to receive a review complaining about the level of profanity in my stories. As the review was anonymous I cannot discuss it with them personally, but I am confused, as I only use words that feature in the show and I employ a T rating to indicate the use of 'minor coarse language' – if anyone else believes that I should actually be using a M rating please do let me know.

------------------------------

The painful rasp of air through swollen nostrils brought Gibbs head up sharply. Beneath his still closed lids, Tony's eyes were moving rapidly, as his cracked, swollen, knuckles grasped fistfuls of the crisp cotton sheets, his back arched and a small cry of protest escaped his lips as the nightmare drove him to wakefulness and his eyes snapped open. 

Gibbs clearly read the flash of panic in his Agent's expression as he took in the unfamiliar surroundings, the tang of sweat and blood in the air and the physical discomfort of recent injury, before the mask slipped firmly into place and he could almost feel DiNozzo assessing what type of danger he might have found himself in this time.

"You redecorate, Boss?"

The words came out thick and slightly raspy, but for once Gibbs let his pride and satisfaction show on his face as DiNozzo's eyes slid in his direction. He wouldn't put it past him to know he was there by his scent or the pattern of his breathing. Even when he was hurting Tony was one of the best agents he had ever worked with. Perhaps especially when he was hurting.

"Its Fornell's place."

A faint frown creased DiNozzo's face, causing him to flinch as he belatedly remembered to be careful. Making an effort to smooth out his features he let his eyes rove around, taking in Ducky sleeping on the couch and Abby in her IPod imposed isolation in the corner.

"How much do you remember?" Gibbs asked neutrally.

Two bright spots of colour stained DiNozzo's cheeks as the events of the previous day came flooding back in glorious Technicolor. It was bad enough that he had acted up like a spoilt brat for being yelled at. He couldn't believe that he had flinched from Gibbs like a frightened child. He refused to look at the ex-marine as he answered in a quiet voice.

"I screwed up, Boss. I should have told you what I was doing before I did it and I shouldn't have over reacted like that."

"Overreacted when you got mad or when I hit you?"

"Both."

"Tony, listen to me. You didn't screw up. You closed the case and I acted like a jackass. I don't blame you for being pissed at me. And, as for the other thing, that wasn't your fault."

"I .." Tony swallowed hard, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the wall. "It wasn't you, Boss."

"No, I kinda figured that."

Tony looked back at the note of understanding in his Boss' voice, not entirely surprised to see the compassion in his eyes. The older man knew more about his relationship with his father than Tony had ever been comfortable telling anyone else. Sometimes he wondered what he would do if he ever actually met the man. He wished he could rub his eyes and scour away the images of the nightmare that still lurked in the shadows of his mind.

"You want to talk about it?" Gibbs offered.

"Not really," Tony knew the offer was sincere, but he was already feeling enough of an idiot for one day. He honestly didn't feel much like sharing just at the moment. "You going to tell me why we're hiding out at Fornell's place?"

"Not while you still look like hell."

"I'm just going keep asking."

"I know," Gibbs picked up his book and found his page again. "Get some rest, DiNozzo."

Tony hesitated. He was exhausted. He had been running on nothing but sodas and candy bars all day. Ducky would kill him if he knew. He would never have woken if it weren't for his nightmare. But he didn't relish a re-run anytime soon.

"What about you, Boss?"

"Go to sleep, Tony, Gibbs didn't take his eyes off the page. "I've got your six."

------------------------------

The next morning Gibbs leant on the rail outside the cabin, watching as the winter sun rose over the horizon, as he sipped his coffee and contemplated the end of his NCIS career. Ducky had chased him out as soon as Tony had woken, having threatened dire consequences if Gibbs said anything to unsettle him before his patient had had the chance for a hot shower and a good breakfast.

He knew was doing the right thing, the only honourable thing, and neither Ducky's arguments nor Abby's tears had been able to dissuade him.

_"I heard what you said, Jethro," Ducky had protested. "I simply fail to see how you think abandoning Anthony could possibly be in his best interests."_

_"You know what these IA investigations are like, Duck. I will not subject Tony to that."_

Abby's distress had been harder for him to deal with; not least because in his heart of hearts he feared that she was right. Tony had the makings of a great Agent, but he had only just begun to trust Kate and although McGee showed promise he was still too green and unsure of himself to be the back up Tony needed.

"_If you go all Lone Ranger on us, who's going to rescue Tony when he gets himself hurt or kidnapped?" Abby had protested._

"_Tony can take care of himself."_

"_No, Tony can take care of Kate and McGee and Ducky and me and even you when he thinks you're not looking. But he needs you, Gibbs."_

A soft sound and the scent of soap cut through the air. Putting his coffee down on the rail Gibbs caught the familiar sleeve of the black turtle neck jumper that DiNozzo kept in the carryall under his desk out of the corner of his eye. Letting his gaze travel up the to the young man's face he saw the firm set of Tony's jaw, the ice hard determination in his eyes vying with a cold fury.

"Abby told me everything."

"DiNozzo." Gibbs hesitated. Unlike most people he never assured that Anthony DiNozzo was an easy opponant. He knew he had to choose his words with care.

"I swear, Gibbs," Tony's eyes glittered dangerously. "If the next words out of your mouth are 'its for your own good .."

Gibbs looked steadily at the younger man, the dark bruising standing out starkly on his pale face, his jumper un-tucked over his light coloured pants and deliberately softened his tone.

"Tony, I can't ask you to do this."

"Not your decision, Boss."

"You know what IA can be like. Even where there's no mud, it still sticks."

Tony nodded. He knew that he would be walking into a minefield. There was no telling what humiliations IA would dig up. But there was no way he was going to let Gibbs walk over this.

"You know what, Boss. I don't give a damn."

He turned away only to be halted by a strong grip around his wrist as Gibbs held in him place, pulling him in so that they were eye to eye.

"Yeah, well, DiNozzo. I do."

Tony almost wilted under the intensity of that gaze. Gibbs might be stilting in his praise, but he had always had his six when he needed it. Every single time Gibbs went to the wire for him he felt humbled by the man's faith in him and his abilities.

Now it was his turn.

"Boss," He met his gaze without smiling. "Trust me."

--------------------------------

Abby looked up as Tony strode purposefully back into the cabin, with a rather pissed Leroy Jethro Gibbs trailing uncharacteristically in his wake.

"Ducky can you pull my medical records? I want every Hospitalization, trip to the ER and kerbside date with the EMTs since I graduated the Police Academy."

"As your personal physician, that shouldn't be too difficult to achieve," Ducky nodded. "I'll make a few calls."

"DiNozzo, what the are you doing?" Gibbs demanded.

"Abby, find out who's heading up the investigation for the IA." Tony ordered.

She shot him a grin as she threw off a sloppy salute. "On it, Boss."

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs snapped. "You better start talking in the next thirty seconds or .."

"Now Gibbs," Abby smiled wickedly at him. "You can't tell Tony what to do. You resigned, remember?"

Frustrated by being ignored by his senior field agent, Gibbs' hand reached out and slapped him firmly across the back of the head. "It's not official until I see the Director, until then I can still kick your ass."

"Oh, promises, Gibbs, promises." Abby purred.

"I meant, DiNozzo!" Gibbs protested.

"Boss," Tony was thoughtful, brushing off the non-reprimand with his usual practised ease. "Can you access my personnel file from Baltimore?"

"And why exactly would I want to do that, DiNozzo?"

"Because I asked nicely?"

"I can pull your transcripts for Rhode Island Military Academy if need be." Gibbs assured him.

"Uh oh." Abby worried.

"What?" Gibbs and Tony asked in unison.

"This is so, not good," Abby tapped a few more keys as she attempted to verify the information. "The IA investigator is Steven Brooker."

"Well, that explains a lot," Tony quipped hollowly. "Sorry, Boss."

"Wasn't your call, DiNozzo." Gibbs tone was brusque.

"Oh my," Ducky murmured sotto voice. "Wasn't that the young man whom Jethro passed over for Vivian's position?"

"Yeah, he had a stick up his ass," Abby pouted. "And he was mean to Tony."

"I do remember hearing something about that," Ducky nodded. "Jethro hadn't yet decided on his new senior field agent and Special Agent Brooker was rather keen to fill those shoes. But I don't recall any specific incidents."

"That's because he wasn't stupid enough to do it when Tony's friends were around, but you know Gibbs. He's like Santa. He knows when you've been naughty."

"He couldn't have been acting alone," Tony began to pace as he processed his thoughts. "Abs, any chance you can find out who made the orginal complaints?"

"Tony, you know that information is strictly confidential." Abby said primly.

"So?" Tony grinned.

"So, it will take a bit longer." Abby matched his expression.

"DiNozzo, you better not be thinking, what I think you're thinking Gibbs warned.

"C'mon, Boss. It's the prefect solution. IA won't have a leg to stand on."

"Tony," Gibbs scrubbed at his face. He wasn't sure if it was the most brilliant suggestion DiNozzo had ever made or the most boneheaded. "You are not going to act as my counsel for the defence."


	4. Chapter 4

AN – So, sorry for the long delay. I have a new job, which I love but longer hours and the story just stalled and I had little time to think never mind write. But I have some time off next weekend, so you shouldn't have to wait so long for the next chapter.

* * *

"Come on, Boss. Its not like I'm asking you to drink decaf, " Tony badgered. "Pretty much all we'll have to do is show up."

"You really think it'll be that simple?"

"No," Tony met his gaze steadily. "But I fight my own battles."

"Brooker's gunning for me," Gibbs dismissed that. "I'm the one who kicked his butt back to Admin."

"Yeah," Tony wasn't agreeing. "And we all know the reason why."

"Because he wasn't up to the job."

Tony looked at him, his eyes dark and for a second Gibbs was back in that warehouse, trying to block out the sickening smells of urine, vomit and blood as he slid to his knees in the puddles of stagnant water beside Tony's battered body, calling for a back up that wasn't there as his Agent looked up at him, eyes burning with anger, pain and helplessness.

"I was the one assigned to protect the kid." Tony reminded him.

"And thanks to Brooker you nearly died doing it!"

"The kid was only 19. He had no idea. I should have saved him. If you had been the one in the warehouse, you would have realised what Archer was up to and the kid never would have got hurt."

"Or maybe, I would have pissed Archer off and the kid would have died. You never think of that?"

"Come on, Boss. There's a reason you have the best closure rate in NCIS."

"My team, has the best closure rate in NCIS. That includes you, DiNozzo."

"Sure, in a civilian 'secure the contaminated crime scene kind of way'," Tony scoffed lightly. "I'm a cop, Gibbs. I work with cop instincts and street smarts. Sure, I can learn the lingo and memorise the stats, but you're the one with the inside track on the whole marine mentality."

"Does any of this have a point, DiNozzo?"

"NCIS needs you. This team needs you. And I need .." Tony sucked in a sharp breath before continuing softly. "I need not to be the reason you screwed up your career."

Gibbs said nothing. He walked over and retrieved his holdall from behind the couch and began packing the few items he had used and zipped it firmly up. Behind him he heard Abby's little mew of distress and Ducky's disapproving cough. Turning to look back over his shoulder he saw that DiNozzo hadn't moved.

"What are you waiting for? Ducky, pull those medical files. Abby, I want everything there is to know about Brooker. And I mean everything right down to what brand of toothpaste he uses. Get McGee to help. DiNozzo, you're with me."

Hefting his holdall onto his shoulder he strode past the younger man and out of the door. But not before he caught the delighted grin which blossom across his face.

"Wouldn't have it any other way, Boss."

* * *

Gibbs watched as Tony fidgeted in front of the mirror with the fit of his jacket, tugging at his cuffs and repeatedly straightening his tie. When he'd persuaded Gibbs to swing by his apartment so he could change he had made some crack about wanting to look like Perry Mason .. only thinner and more handsome. Right now he looked more like a man on his way to the gallows.

Gibbs hated those suits.

He'd been working with DiNozzo for almost six months before he'd realised that his wardrobe was a direct indicator of his emotional state. The days when he turned up at work in jeans and a casual shirt were to be cherished. That Tony felt secure and sufficiently appreciated to relax the polished persona that he worked so hard to present to the world at large. The designer suits were his emotional armour against a wealth of insecurities.

"No one's asking you to do this, DiNozzo."

"I know," Tony's fingers sought out his face as he touched gingerly. "I was just thinking, maybe I should have taken Ducky up on his offer."

Although the physical damage wasn't that serious the bruising gave Technicolor a bad name. The MD had offered his assistance in covering up the worse of the damage. It was often his sad duty to prepare the corpses he was to autopsy for identification by relatives or co-workers and he always did his best to repair the ravages of death.

Tony had thought about what Gibbs would do and declined.

Except, he _wasn't_ Gibbs and right now he felt like he was twelve years old again and about to face his first day back at school with the bruised swollen evidence of his father's anger and disappointment too extensive to hide. The whispering and the stares he could handle. It was the sympathetic looks, the ones that said they were so glad not to be him that he didn't think he take.

Strong fingers, rough with calluses reached out and raised his chin, up to meet blue eyes.

"You got something to be ashamed of DiNozzo?"

Tony stilled, as he felt the little circles of warmth Gibbs fingers made, strong yet gentle along his jaw. Taking a shuddering breath he let the sensations ground him. Gibbs wasn't an overly demonstrative person, but he never let his people be in any doubt where they stood with him. With Abby it was a kiss on the head or a tweak of a pigtail. With DiNozzo it was slap on the head, or a rueful, but tolerant, roll of the eyes. But when Tony was sick or hurting it was Gibbs' fingers, firm and sure on his face as those blue eyes, flecked with concern fixed him with a steady gaze.

He could do this.

"No, Boss." He vowed quietly.

"Glad to hear it." Gibbs patted his face.

* * *

Kate allowed herself to feel just a little smug as she glanced at her watch. After a day like yesterday, arriving late simply wasn't an option. Stepping off the elevator into the bullpen she was initially pleasantly surprised to see that she was in even before Gibbs. Until she saw the stack of coffee cups over flowing out of his trash can. Looking around, she caught sight of the empty Pizza box on the floor behind Tony's desk and the three empty Caw Pow cups neatly stacked by McGee's computer.

"What ..?"

"Kate," Gibbs appeared around the corner and thrust a manila folder into her hands. "Steven Brooker. I want a full profile. Everything from the kind of pet he had in grade school to what he most likely had for dinner last night."

Glancing down at the folder, Kate's eyes widened in surprise.

"Gibbs, this guy is NCIS."

"Ex-cop. LAPD. Reputation as a hard ass, by the book, stickler for protocool. Was a probationary field Agent out in California. Transferred TAD to Washington last year. Presently assigned to IA. Unmarried. No significant other. No dependants. Hobbies, hunting and boxing. Hates team sports and doesn't own a TV."

"If you already know so much about him, what do you want me to find out?" Kate protested.

Gibbs gave her a steely gaze which suggested that if she continued that line of thinking her job security would be seriously in doubt.

"More."

"Gibbs! Could you be more specific? Is this even a case?"

But he was already striding towards MTAC and either couldn't hear her or chose to ignore her. Stomping over to her desk she sat down and opened the file muttering angrily under her breath.

"Don't take it personally," Abby materialised in front of her. "He's just worried about Tony."

"Tony?" Kate's head snapped up. "What happened to Tony?"

"Reader's Digest?"

Kate nodded.

Abby thought for a moment biting her lip in concentration before nodding vigorously. "Tony's hurting. Gibbs might get fired. Its all the bad man's fault."

"And Steven Brooker is the bad man?" Kate hazarded.

Just at that moment, DiNozzo walked around the corner of the bullpen and Kate gasped at the obvious bruising marring his features. Her expression darkened and her eyes cut to icy slits.

"Brooker did that?"

"What?" Abby followed her gaze. "No, Gibbs did that. Brooker .."

"_Gibbs_ did that?"

* * *

"Damn it, DiNozzo, I don't care what kind of hero-worship you have going on here," Kate fumed as she paced across the interrogation observation room where she had dragged her partner. "This is out of line, even for Gibbs."

"He didn't mean to hit me."

"Tony," Kate deliberately tried to take a calming breath. "Listen to yourself. How many times have you heard the victims of domestic violence say the same thing? The fact is he did it. He hit you."

"It was an accident!"

"You know, I know some very good counsellors. Maybe you should talk to someone. Try and get this in perspective."

"Get what in perspective?"

"This thing you have with Gibbs," Kate floundered slightly. "Its obvious that you see him as a substitute father and …"

"Kate, Gibbs is nothing like my father," Tony ran a hand through his hair as he struggled to explain. "My father never touched me."

"Tony, I don't .."

"Kate, listen to me. He _never_ touched me. Never swept me up in his arms when he came home from a business trip. Never carried me on his shoulders when I hit a home run in little league. Never held my hand as I crossed the street or tucked me in at night. Hell, I could go for weeks at a time without ever even seeing the guy. But there hasn't been a single day since I started at NCIS that Gibbs hasn't touched me one way or another."

"You can't really think those head slaps are a sign of affection?"

"You're the profiler," Tony tilted his head on one side in clear challenge. "You tell me."

Kate thought for a moment. Gibbs was sparing with words and he could be reserved, treating a casual hand on his arm with icy disdain. But his actions spoke volumes and he was more tactile than most people gave him credit for, reaching out unhesitatingly to comfort small children and dogs. And she'd been a virtual stranger when he'd hugged her after breaking the news of Kerry's death. She had seen him pat Ducky consolingly on the back and kiss Abby's hair.

She couldn't get past it.

"Tony, he hits you!"

"Kate," Tony looked at her carefully. "You haven't been talking to IA have you?"


	5. Chapter 5

_AN – _So very sorry for the long delay – what can I say, I got completely totally and absolutely stuck!

_Items in italics are in flash backs – they aren't many so I hope they're not too annoying!

* * *

_

As soon as Gibbs walked into the bullpen he knew something was off. Kate was writing furiously, her mouth thin and pursed as her pen dug small, spiky gouges in the paper. Across from her his senior field agent's desk was conspicuously empty. At the other end of the room McGee was working furiously, hunched practically double over his computer in a vain attempt to avoid eye contact as his boss stopped directly in front of him.

"Where's DiNozzo?"

"Um, he didn't say exactly, Boss."

"Well, what exactly did he say, McGee?" Gibbs tone was sharper than he usually employed with his youngest agent. He didn't have time for this.

"He said he was following Marine general order number twelve," McGee's natural curiously overcame his reluctance. "I thought marines only had eleven general orders, Boss?"

"They do." Gibbs was already turning away.

"Then what ..?" McGee pushed his chair back a little from his desk and craned his neck to peer over his monitor at Gibbs' retreating back.

"General order number twelve, don't get caught," Gibbs spoke without turning as he drew up next to Kate's desk. "McGee, find, DiNozzo."

"Yes, Boss."

"Kate, you're with me."

Her head came up sharply and her mouth opened to protest, before she caught the expression on his face and thought better of it. Resigning herself to the inevitable she rose to her feet and followed him into the elevator. He had barely set the car in motion when he flipped the switch, bringing it to a shuddering halt.

"What's going on?"

_"Kate, you haven't been talking to IA, have you?" Tony frowned._

"_Of course not!" She protested. "You know me better than that. If I had a problem with Gibbs I'd say so to his face."_

_Tony gave her a long, appraising look, before walking over to Brooker's file which she had dropped onto the table. Flipping it open, he pulled out the standard ID photo._

"_Recognise him?"_

"_Oh." Her gasp of surprise as she held her hand to her mouth were all the response he needed. "Jimmy!"_

"_Brooker, was Jimmy? The guy you dated for two weeks last month?" Tony leant back against the desk, his posture relaxed but his eyes hooded as he surveyed her. "Did you sleep with him?"_

"_DiNozzo!" She was righteous with indignation. "Only you .."_

"_He was already using you, Kate," Tony was unrepentant. " If he had crossed that line I would have turned him into a Soprano."_

"We dated a few times," Kate bit her lip nervously, as she looked up at Gibbs, then went on in a rush. "I swear, I didn't know he was IA. He said his name was Jimmy and that he was a cop from LA, in town for a job interview."

"Steven _James_ Brooker," Gibbs corrected. "Formerly of the LAPD before moving to NCIS San Diego. The 'job interview' was a TAD in 2002. His Grandmother calls him Jimmy."

"Tony told me he used to have my desk."

Gibbs frowned. The Director had personally seen to DiNozzo's de-briefing, while the younger agent was still in the Hospital. Afterwards he had been reluctant to talk about it and even the best part of two bottles of bourbon hadn't gotten Gibbs the whole story. At the time he had been happy enough with the outcome to let it lie.

Didn't mean he wasn't curious.

"What else did DiNozzo tell you?"

Kate bit her lip, obviously debating with herself, before she sighed.

"He thinks he's protecting you, Gibbs."

* * *

Tony tucked the folder under his arm and hastily straightened his collar and tightened the knot of his tie as he bounded up the stairs.

"He's expecting you." The Director's PA greeted him with a smile. "You can go right in."

"Thanks, Cynthia," Getting an appointment wit the Director at such short notice was no easy thing. He pulled out his most dazzling smile and a box of Godiva chocolates. "I owe you one."

Walking over to the door, he knocked politely, waiting for a response before he turned the knob and entered.

"Special Agent DiNozzo," Director Morrow rose to his feet as he greeted him. "You are supposed to be on a week's sick leave."

"If you'll recall, sir, I didn't need a week's sick leave when I was shot. This is hardly in the same league."

"You didn't take it son, that doesn't mean you didn't need it," Morrow observed. "Gibbs is a fine NCIS Agent. But his example is not be followed in all things."

"I've never been much of a coffee drinker, sir."

The corner of Morrow's mouth twitched. That DiNozzo could deny the holy grail of caffeine to Gibbs' face and live spoke volumes about their true relationship. Getting up Morrow came around his desk to take a closer look at the bruised and swollen features.

"Does it hurt as bad as it looks?"

"Nothing I can't handle, sir."

"Coming from a man who once chased down a suspect on a twisted ankle, that's not entirely reassuring," Morrow snorted. "Take a seat and tell me what I can do for you."

Silently, Tony handed him the manila folder. He watched as the Director skimmed the first few pages, his brow creasing in a frown and then he began to read in earnest.

"Where did you get this information?" Morrow asked at last.

"Everything in there can be substantiated, sir."

"That wasn't what I asked, Agent DiNozzo," Morrow's tone held a hint of reprimand, as his eyes slid to the fresh bruising on DiNozzo's knuckles.

"No, sir." Tony agreed. "It wasn't."

Morrow hid his rueful smile. It was Donald Mallard who had first alerted him to the wealth of similarities between the urbane Italian and their uptight marine. He often wondered if the two agents themselves realised how alike they were once they got their teeth into something.

"I command your loyalty, DiNozzo," Morrow conceded with a sigh, as he closed the file with a decisive snap, his decision made. "Which is why I'm not about to let you jeopardise your career by using this."

"Isn't that my choice, sir?" Tony asked stiffly.

"No, son," Morrow softened his tone. "Its mine. Special Agent Gibbs thinks very highly of you. He would never forgive himself if his reputation was salvaged at the expense of yours."

"With all due respect, sir," DiNozzo's tone hovered just this side of insubordination. "I feel the same way."

"Which is why, we are going to do this my way," Brooker rose and pressed a button his desk. "Cynthia, can you send Agent Brooker in now please?"

* * *

"I should have killed that bastard when I had the chance," Gibbs fumed as he stormed into autopsy. "It wouldn't have been that hard to make it look like an accident."

"I take it you are referring to our ex-Agent Brooker," Ducky surmised. "As I recall, Jethro, you never asked to have him assigned to your team, it was purely a TAD. After dear Vivian left the higher ups objected to your processing such a high profile case as a two man team."

"Yeah, and look what an asset Brooker turned out to be. He hung DiNozzo out to dry in the middle of an undercover operation. The Admiral's kid he was supposed to be protecting got stabbed and Tony almost died."

"None of which is news to me. Is there a particular reason why we are rehashing this now?"

"Because DiNozzo told Kate that Brooker blames him, for his demotion."

_Tony stood with his face to the window as he spoke in a soft voice that, even in the confines of the observation room, she had to strain to hear. "By the time Gibbs got to us, the kid was bleeding out, I was unconscious and Brooker was nowhere to be seen. Gibbs had to make a choice."_

"_Breathing before circulation." Kate nodded, remembering her own first aid._

_Tony turned around, his eyes distant and his expression unreadable. "I lived but the recruit ended up with a medical discharge. There was a board of enquiry. I was cleared but Gibbs made sure Brooker's status as a field agent was revoked."_

"_And Brooker blames Gibbs?" Kate tried to keep up._

"_No, he blames me. He's just using Gibbs to get to me."_

"_Paranoid much, Tony?"_

"_I'm serious, Kate. Brooker had two years seniority on me. He was bucking for Senior Field Agent. I screwed up. Now I have his job and he got busted back to admin. People had killed for less."_

"_You can't know that, Tony."_

"I'm assuming that our dear Caitlyn is forgetting that Anthony used to be attached to Homicide in Baltimore. He would have had plenty of opportunity to see first hand just how petty the human race can be in their revenge." Ducky sighed.

"That and the fact that Brooker has apparently been sending him abusive e-mails for the past year." Gibbs gave him an old fashioned look.

"Oh my."

"Ducky, am I really such a bastard that one of my own people wouldn't come to me over something like that?"

"Jethro, this is Anthony we're talking about. I imagine that he wouldn't want to admit to anything that you might perceive as a weakness."

"I'll take that as a yes," Gibbs sighed, as his phone began to ring. "What McGee? He's where? No. I'll deal with it."

* * *

Almost as soon as Morrow had the two Agents settled in his office he received an urgent summons to MTAC. Brooker smiled thinly as he figured he recognised the ploy.

"If Morrow thinks you can talk me out of pressing charges against Gibbs, the old man's loosing his touch."

"He's the Director", Dinozzo hopped out of his chair and began to prowl around the room, staring at one picture, minutely straightening another, using a finger to check a third for dust. "He does have other calls on his time. The Director of the FBI, CIA, The President. You know what its like. Or maybe you don't anymore. I don't suppose anyone ever gets you out of bed at 2am because they need something filed."

"You always did have a smart mouth, DiNozzo." Brooker rose to his feet.

"And you always had a way of sticking your nose into things that were "none of you business", DiNozzo hissed, doing the air quotes to match.

"NCIS is a Federal Agency," Broker pressed. "There are accepted procedures for the disciplining of junior agents. Gibbs doesn't get to ignore those procedures just because he's Gibbs."

"I can handle, Gibbs."

"You looked in a mirror lately?" Brooker smirked.

"This was an accident."

"Sure, it was," Brooker wasn't agreeing. "I hear Gibbs hired a secret service chick and a whiz kid from MIT. Gotta be getting a little crowded up there."

"Unlike you, I play well with others."

"I suppose a Phys-Ed major has to be good for something."

"Let's cut to the chase," DiNozzo tipped his head on one side. "What do you really want, Jimmy?"

"You've been at NCIS, a while now. Isn't it time you moved on?" Brooker smiled thinly.

"You want my job?" Tony shook his head. "Even if I resign, Gibbs will never give you my desk."

"Oh, I don't want you to resign, Tony-boy, I want Gibbs to fire your ass."

"That's you're deal? You'll lay off Gibbs if I screw up badly enough to get myself fired?"

"Oh, I'm not going to make it that easy for you," Brooker moved forward, an evil glint in his eye. "You don't get to do the honourable thing, Tony-boy. You might actually be able to live with youself after that."

Tony clamped his jaw shut. And said nothing.

"Gibbs is a Marine, Tony-boy," Brooker hissed. "Decorated in the service of his country and winner of the NCIS best agent more times than anyone else in the history of this agency. With the evidence I have, if I'm lucky he'll get a slap on the wrist. You on the other hand, by the time I've dragged out all your pathetic-needy poor little rich boy past out in front of the tribunal under the guise of defending your honour, Gibbs will be so sickened, he won't be able to look you in the face. He won't just fire you, he'll be out of your life for good."


	6. Chapter 6

AN - Thanks as ever for the reviews, your support is much appreciated. I've had a bit more sleep this time, so hopefully have caught most of the typos! I'm back at work this weekend but now that I'm back on track will update just as soon as I can.

* * *

Up in MTAC Morrow watched out of the corner of his eye as Gibbs' jaw clenched as Brooker taunted Tony. As the IA officer's venom mounted his hand tightened around his Styrofoam cup and he took a step forward, as if to physically intervene.

"You decide to use one of my people as bait in an under cover operation and you don't bother to inform either of us? Damn it, Tom that's not need to know, that's down right negligent."

"Special Agent DiNozzo is an NCIS operative, not your personal property, Jethro," Morrow chided. "And it seemed like a long shot. We had no idea Brooker was compiling a dossier on DiNozzo. I would have bet the farm he was coming after you."

"No-one can do annoying quite like DiNozzo." Gibbs allowed himself a small smile.

"Still, he's a good man to have in your corner," Morrow observed as he discreetly passed Gibbs the folder he had taken from DiNozzo. The ex-Gunny gave him a questioning look, his eyes widening slightly as he took in the sensitive information. "Where did he get this?"

"I didn't ask," Morrow shook his head. "And neither will you."

As Brooker's tirade reached its peak they both turned their attention back to the screen. Gibbs frowning darkly at Tony's tacit acceptance that if he got himself fired then Gibbs career and reputation would be assured.

"Gibbs is a Marine, Tony-boy," Brooker was hissing. "Decorated in the service of his country and winner of the NCIS best agent more times than anyone else in the history of this agency. With the evidence I have, if I'm lucky he'll get a slap on the wrist. You on the other hand, by the time I've dragged out all your pathetic-needy poor little rich boy past out in front of the tribunal under the guise of defending your honour, Gibbs will be so sickened, he won't be able to look you in the face. He won't just fire you, he'll be out of your life for good."

"That's it," Gibbs decided. "This ends now."

"No," Morrow surprised him. "We need to see this thing through."

"Sir, with respect we already have enough evidence to make sure that Brooker will never work for another Federal Agency. There's no need to put DiNozzo through this show trial."

"Isn't there? DiNozzo needs to know you'll stand by him, Jethro."

"I thought this was a Federal Agency, not a kindergarten," Gibbs groused. "He knows."

"Does he?" Morrow gave his old friend a knowing look. "DiNozzo is a good Agent, but until he gets you off that pedestal he's put you on, he's never going to feel ready to lead his own team. He knows you think he's a good Agent. He knows you're a better man than his father. But does he really know how much you value his judgement? There's more to field training than making sure the kid can shoot straight and not trip over his own shoelaces, Jethro."

"I'm aware of that, sir," Gibbs sighed. DiNozzo had good instincts, but he needed to have more confidence in his own decisions. Brooker had already done a good job of making him feel like he was the second string choice for Gibbs' senior field agent, maybe it _was_ time to put him straight on a few things. "I'll speak to him."

"See that you do."

* * *

Downstairs in Abby's lab, Kate squirmed slightly as she watched the live feed from the Director's office, biting her lip in concern. "Are you sure we should be watching this?"

"Of course we should," Abby asserted confidently. "I'm not leaving that sleaze ball alone with Tony ever again. He's bad news."

"I don't know," McGee's voice was tinged with admiration. "It looks to me like Tony can take care of himself."

"Are you _threatening _me Jimmy?" Tony asked.

"That's not a threat, Tony-boy, that's a promise." Brooker continued to sneer.

"You know, I was afraid you might say that," Tony made a face. "Now I owe Abby 20 bucks. See, she bet me that you were stupid enough to go up against Gibbs and I said no way. Not even you were dumb enough to take Gibbs on. I guess I was wrong. Still, its worth 20 bucks to see your face when Gibbs is through with you. I could probably sell tickets."

"What are you talking about, DiNozzo?"

"Hate to break it to you, Jimmy, but nobody likes you."

"You think I give a rat's ass?" Brooker snarled. "I meant about Gibbs."

"I've been Gibbs' senior field Agent for the last two years. I've been shot, stabbed, kidnapped, tortured, kissed a he-she, in the line of duty I might add, I even died once and I still manage to get the bad guys. You think Gibbs is going to take your word over mine? You already lied to him once."

"I have evidence."

To all outwards appearances DiNozzo looked unfazed. But a small crease appeared in Abby's forehead, only to disappear almost immediately.

"Of what?" Tony was grinning. "The time I copied Bailey Weston's math assignment in 2nd grade? I was a homicide detective remember? They don't give gold shields to people with skeletons in their closets."

"Naw, only to people whose Daddy's can afford expensive lawyers," Brooker smirked. "Tell Morrow I had another appointment. I'll see you tomorrow, at the hearing."

"What did he mean?" Kate worried. "About the lawyers?"

"I don't know," Abby started tapping furiously on her keyboard. "But I'm going to find out."

"Um, couldn't we just ask, Tony?" McGee faltered as two pairs of eyes swivelled in his direction. "Um. Forget I said that. Bad idea."

* * *

Gibbs threaded his way silently through the desks and files in the dim recesses of records, shaking his head in fond recollection as he caught sight of a single reading lamp in the afternoon glom, illuminating a dark head bent diligently over a pile of files._"Detective DiNozzo."_

_At this time of night the Baltimore Squad room was almost deserted. Gibbs had to give the kid credit, not only was he still working, he waited a full three seconds before looking up, his eyes wary at the unexpected arrival of the man who had ridden his ass all day, but his expression offering a truce._

"_I left Detective DiNozzo in my other pants. Right now, I'm just plain 'ole Tony, you can be Jethro, if it makes you feel better."_

"You never call me Jethro," Gibbs observed, without preamble, as he fell into a seat, knowing that DiNozzo would pick up on the reference. "Not even when we're out of the office."

A thin smile graced Tony's features at the shared memory, but he didn't so much as look up, as he carried on taking notes.

"I know, Boss, That's because it would be too weird."

"I let Fornell call me Jethro." He let the question hang in the air between them.

Tony gave a half shrug that wasn't really an answer. "I had this friend in High School, used to call his parents by their Christian names. Your parents ever let you do that?"

Gibbs smiled a little.

"Nope."

"Me, neither. In my house it was always Father or Sir."

Gibbs jaw tightened as he tried to imagine Kelly ever calling her Daddy either 'father' or 'sir'. He wonder if DiNozzo Snr even realised what he had missed out on. A good parent didn't set out to teach their child its place; they encouraged their offspring to be the best that they could be.

"When you have your own team, you call me Jethro."

Tony did glance up at that, searching his face as he deciphered the Gibbs-speak behind that sentence. Letting his expression soften slightly he nodded his appreciation.

"I'm guessing your Dad was pretty much a straight down the line kinda guy."

"Pretty much." Gibbs agreed.

Tony hesitated, making a note on a file and tossing it aside before summoning his courage and asking in a deceptively light tone. "You ever disappoint him?"

"Sometimes," Gibbs face twisted slightly at the memory, but he didn't share. This wasn't about him. "Brooker hit a nerve today."

Tony bit the inside of his cheek as he remembered the look on his father's face when he had told him that he wouldn't be joining the family business. That he wanted to be a cop instead. His father's anger had been hard enough, he wasn't sure he could survive his Boss' disappointment.

"You know, don't you?" he sighed.

* * *

Tony looked around at the small park, with its neatly kept paths and well cared for flowerbeds. He wasn't sure why Gibbs thought this was a conversation that needed fresh air and sunshine, but the sounds drifting off the Potomac were soothing and Tony wasn't about to argue. Not right now.

"Here."

Tony narrowed his eyes at the object that appeared in his line of vision.

"Boss, that's an ice-cream cone." _With strawberry sauce and sprinkles._

"Uh huh."

Gibbs' reply was a little muffled as he licked at his own ice-cream, waiting until Tony's fingers curled around the cone, before dropping onto the bench beside him. For once, Tony would have preferred a large shot of bourbon, but at three in the afternoon he wasn't about to lower Gibbs good opinion of him any further.

"I swear, I didn't know."

His voice came out little more than a whisper. The easy pressure of Gibbs thigh against his own, the light warmth where their shoulders touched, keeping him grounded in the present. And Gibbs ignored the heat of the paper Abby had printed out, that was burning a hole in his back pocket and let him talk.

"I only found out much later, when I applied to the Police Department. My father's lawyers did their job. It didn't come up in any of my background checks. My father told me. He thought it would be enough to bring me back into the business. He actually expected me to be grateful!"

Gibbs listened, letting Tony talk through what he already knew. Tony had been sixteen. The girl almost twenty with her eyes firmly fixed on the DiNozzo fortune. Gibbs had always wondered if that was why DiNozzo was so leery of dating older women. Her unborn child had been nothing but a passport to an all expenses paid abortion and a huge payoff. Neither she nor his father had bothered to tell Tony about their 'transaction'.

"Once I joined the Police Department, I tried to pull up the files, but whatever my father's lawyer's did they trussed them up tighter than a Turkey at Thanksgiving. And I was too ashamed to ask anyone else to help. I never even knew if it was a boy or a girl."

Shifting slightly, Gibbs pulled the sheet, folded into four, smoothing it out carefully before passing it to Tony for inspection. Tony's eyes widened as he recognised the ultrasound scan. Only to morph into a frown.

"Look, here," Gibbs tone was patient, as he traced his finger across the bleary, two dimensional, black and white image. "That's the head, this is an arm, the leg here, see?"

"It's a boy?"

"That's the umbilical cord, DiNozzo," Gibbs corrected tolerantly. "This is your daughter."


	7. Chapter 7

AN – Thanks to all who offered help and encouragement when I got stuck! Your support was much appreciated and especially to Celestial1 whose comments sent me in a different direction than she probably intended, but they helped get me out of my rut!

* * *

Gibbs had never seen Tony look like this. Not even after the torture that Archer had brutally and systematic inflicted upon him. When Gibbs', hard, urgent, compressions had restored him to some level of consciousness, DiNozzo had looked up at him and _smiled_. Now the expression on his face could only be called grief-stricken, as he rubbed his thumb across the grainy image.

"I should have," Tony paused. He wasn't sure what he should have done. He didn't feel ready for fatherhood even now in his thirties. He wasn't stupid enough to think that Suzanne had ever loved him and he knew better than to think his family would have stood by him. "Something. Done something."

"It wasn't your fault."

Few people in this world would dare to contradict Leroy Jethro Gibbs when he used that tone. Even fewer would do it and live. Somehow, DiNozzo had always been an exception to that rule.

"I make a bad joke and I get a head slap, but _this_ you don't blame me for?" Tony looked over at him, his eyes dark and disbelieving.

"_DiNozzo,_" Gibbs broke off in irritation as his phone trilled. Sparing a brief glance at the caller ID he abruptly flipped it open. They weren't working any active cases whatever Abby wanted could wait.

"I'll call you back." He spoke without preamble and without further explanation went to close his phone.

"Gibbs, _wait, _this is really, really important." Abby's voice yelled, demanding to be heard.

"Not _now_ Abs."

Snapping his phone shut he shoved it into his trouser pocket and turned his attention back to his senior field agent.

"Look, .."

Almost at once, Tony's phone started ringing, automatically the younger man's hand went to his pocket, pulling out the cell and checking the caller ID before offering the phone to Gibbs.

"Its Abby, guess, it really is important, Boss."

Resigning himself, Gibbs took the proffered phone, thumbing the 'accept' button and barking with even more than customary gruffness.

"What?"

As he listened Gibbs face grew black as thunder, his finger clenching as he clutched the phone ever tighter. Without warning, and with Abby's voice still echoing from the speaker, he drew his arm back to send the offending piece of equipment through the air in a perfect arc over the railings to splash into the cold grey waters of the Potomac below.

"Um, Boss?" Tony offered after a moment. "That was _my_ phone."

* * *

Gibbs strode back into the building with only the gruffest of nods for the security guard, sending Agents scattering in his path as he made a beeline for the elevator and punched the button for the basement rather harder than was strictly necessary for it to perform its proper function.

"Did you ever get around to putting that sub dermal chip in DiNozzo?" He greeted Abby, ignoring his two other Agent who crowded around in concern at the thunderous expression on his face.

"Oh ouch," Abby bit her lip. "That bad?"

"What do you think, Abs?" Gibbs sighed.

"But he should be pleased, right?" Kate put in. "I mean, his father was lying. It was all a set up to blackmail him into joining the family firm. The girl was never even pregnant. He has nothing to feel bad about."

Gibbs looked at her, his expression unreadable. It had almost been like flicking a switch. One minute Tony was sitting hunched and defeated, his expression sombre and his eyes dark and pained as his un-tucked shirt and tousled hair made him look oddly vulnerable. The next he had straightened himself out, carded a hand through his hair and pasted a smile on his face as he acted like everything was _just peachy._

Gibbs knew better.

"You mean apart from the fact that he just lost his daughter all over again, Agent Todd?"

"But Brooker must have known it was all lies," McGee felt like he was stating the obvious. "I mean his people can hack into all the same classified data bases as Abby can."

"Yep." Gibbs response was tight and clipped.

"Then why?" McGee floundered.

"Because McGee," Gibbs spoke with exaggerated patience. "He figured that once I heard that DiNozzo had got a girl pregnant and failed to live up to his responsibilities, then I would drop him like a stone."

"Except families don't work like that," Abby stated confidently. "Tony's ours and we're keeping him."

Gibbs almost winced as he remembered the lost look in his senior field agent's eyes. _"I make a bad joke and I get a head slap, but this you don't blame me for?" _Before this was all over they were going to have to straighten out a few things.

"The chip, Abs?"

"I bought Tony this really nice watch for his birthday," Abby enthused. "It was all these gizmos, like a compass and it glows in the dark and ,.."

"_Abs"_

"I might have added a teeny tiny extra." Abby grinned, going to her computer and calling up and a map with a location beacon. "Ta da!"

"Nice work, Abby," Gibbs kissed her on the head. "Patch it through to the car will you?" He looked around and saw that Todd and McGee were totally oblivious to their surroundings, their heads bent together as they conducted a hushed conversation.

"McGee!"

The probationary agent's head came up sharply, with that familiar 'deer in the headlights' look. "Yes, Boss!"

"You're with me."

"Yes, Boss," McGee hastened over. "Um, where are we going?"

"To find DiNozzo."

"Right," McGee nodded sagely. "So, you can help him with whatever it is he is doing?"

"So, I can shoot him." Gibbs retorted.

Left alone in the lab Abby and Kate looked at one another. Kate knew she shouldn't ask, but somehow she just couldn't help herself.

"You really think that Gibbs thinks of Tony as family?"

* * *

Making his way through the brightly lit diner, Gibbs chest tightened slightly as he caught sight of his senior field agent. Somewhere along the line, DiNozzo had ditched the suit and tie in favour of a pair of jeans and a button down shirt. In front of him was a half drunk coffee and across the table was the unmistakable figure of Thomas Wells.

Gibbs allowed himself a small smile.

He had to give the ex-cop credit. He would never have thought of using Wells. Confident that McGee was covering the exit he settled in to wait, watching the way that DiNozzo laughed and smiled with the young marine until Wells finally passed him a thin envelope. He waited until Wells had left before slipping silently into his vacated seat.

"You know, Boss," Tony didn't look the least bit surprised to see him. "You really should start wearing cologne. Then at least I could smell you coming."

"Want to tell me what you and Wells talked about?"

"The usual," Tony shrugged, his eyes bright and brittle. "Physical therapy, how hard it is to get Mederma stains out of black silk sheets

"This wasn't a social call, DiNozzo," Gibbs hardened his expression just a little. "You're drinking coffee. You only do that when you are under cover."

"Just a grunt hooking up with another grunt," Tony offered. "What can I say? I liked the kid. So, shoot me."

"Don't tempt me." Gibbs growled, with enough resonance, that DiNozzo swallowed hard and switched tactics. Once the Operation was over Wells had discovered he wasn't actually Tony Deakin, Marine Reservist, but the coffee had been a familiar and comforting ritual, which had encouraged him to open up.

"I figured we could use Wells' witness statement," Tony looked away as he admitted the unbearable bit. "Not all of my injuries were inflicted by Archer, Boss."

"What?" Gibbs hissed.

"Brooker said it was part of his cover," Tony wouldn't meet his gaze. "That if Archer ordered him to rough me up, he had to do it right, make it look good, or it would look suspicious."

Gibbs felt bitter bile force its way up his throat. This was his fault. He had known what Brooker was like. He had followed orders and allowed himself to be overruled. And Tony had paid the price.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Tony looked away. He'd been as embarrassed as hell that was why. He was an ex-cop, with close to eight years on the force and Brooker had hazed him like the greenest probie. He still didn't know how he had managed to keep it from Gibbs all this time. Not that it mattered. They'd closed the case. _Whatever it took,_ right? He forced his tone to sound nonchalant as he replied. "It wasn't important."

To his surprise, Gibbs' hand reached out and grasped his jaw firmly, in an almost painful grip, forcing him to look the ex-gunny in the eyes.

"It is to me."

* * *

The next morning DiNozzo came in dressed in an open necked shirt and his brown leather jacket, looking more like John Travolta than Perry Mason. Gibbs didn't bother to hide his grin at the subconcious increase in confidence caused by his positve re-inforcement yesterday.

"I feel like I'm being sent to the Principal's office," Kate worried, as the team waited for their summons to the conference room where the preliminary hearing was to be held. "Shouldn't they have called us in by now?"

"Psychology 101," Tony leant back in his chair as he surveyed her. "Keep your victim waiting. Puts them off guard. Makes them really, really nervous."

"I suppose you'd know," Kate sniped. "You probably had your own chair in hte Principal's office in High School."

"I'll have you know, Agent Todd," Tony said grandly. "That Principal Williams thought I was a modal student."

"Oh come on," Kate protested. "You're lying. McGee, help me out here, he has to be lying, right?"

"Actually, he's not," McGee shook his head. "You can ask Abby."

_Tony had been hanging around in the lab for the last twenty minutes waiting for the test results Gibbs wanted. As the machine did its work, Tony and Abby had begun a game of one upmanship that had McGee ducking his head and hoping they forgot that he was even in the room._

_"One hundred and twenty seven pairs of shoes, not including trainers," Tony grinned triumphantly. "I win again."_

_"Alright," Abby twirled aroud on her chair, a mischievous grin lighting her eyes. "How many times were you called to the Principals office in High School?"_

"_How many were you?" Tony asked, suddenly guarded._

"_Six Hundred and Twenty Seven times." Abby practically bounced with glee._

"_Ouch." Tony made a face._

"_So?" Abbey looked expectant._

_Tony's face twisted slightly, unwilling to admit defeat. "Never."_

"_Really?" Abby's jaw dropped. "Not ever?"_

"_Well, there was this one time, but that doesn't really count .."_

"You know what the trick is, _Katie_?" Tony was grinning. "Don't get caught."

"Except for that one time when you did get caught, _Tony_?" Kate retorted triumphantly. "What did you do? Drill a hole in the wall so you could peek into the girls locker room?"

"Hey, I didn't do anything!"

"So, why were you there?" Kate crossed her arms.

"Tony," Gibbs barked. "Go and tell Abby that I need those files on the DNA results from the Forrest case ASAP."

"Something wrong with your phone, Boss?" Tony asked his eyes still locked with Kate.

"Now, DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked.

Only once Tony had left did he turn his attention to Kate, speaking in low tones, for her ears only. "His Mother was killed in a car crash. His father was out of the country on business. They called him to the Principals office to break the news."

"Oh," Kate floundered. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"Yeah, well, now you do." Gibbs muttered.

* * *

Gibbs paused at the threshold to the lab. Abby was facing him, hugging Tony tightly as he stood with his back to the door, resting his chin on her head. Given the tears that were shining in Abby's eyes Gibbs wasn't entirely sure who was comforting whom.

"This plan sucks." Abby muttered rebelliously.

"You got any better ideas?" Tony asked lightly.

"Lots," Abby nodded vigorously, not moving out of his embrace. "There's poison that doesn't leave any trace, or this real cool anaesthetic which makes like you're paralysed .."

"If it was that easy to get rid of Brooker, Abs, we could just shoot the bastard." Tony murmured with a smile in his voice.

"Gibbs would if you asked him to," Abby declared loyalty. "I mean, if it was Kate or McGee he might just maim him a little. But you've always been special to him."

"I've just known him longer." Tony hedged.

"Wow," Abby shook her head as she lent back and whacked him in the chest. She never ceased to be amazed by Tony's willingness to go out on a limb for others, whilst never believing that he deserved on the same loyalty in return. "Daddy DiNozzo really did a number on you. Gibbs _loves _you. If he had a son, he'd want him to be just like you. And it's not just me," She added before he could object. "Even Ducky thinks so."

"And Ducky's never wrong?" Tony asked, amused, but not entirely convinced.

"Not in all the time I've known him." Gibbs put in.

Tony stilled, closing his eyes. "How long?" He asked Abby.

"Since I said that the plan sucks, which it does." Abby informed him. Not remotely repentant.

"Boss, I .." Tony stammered, two pink spots, appearing in his cheeks. "About what she said .."

"She's right," Gibbs watched the hope settle over his agent's face before continuing. "This plan does suck."

"Yes, Boss." Tony's face fell.

"I could order you not to do it."

"But you won't."

Tony's voice was soft with a certainty that McGee wouldn't dare attempt and Kate hadn't yet learnt to judge correctly, rightly getting burned those times she'd made wrong assumptions. Even in their early days Tony had always been able to read him.

"No, I won't," Gibbs agreed. "And you know why?"

"No, Boss."

"Because," He brought his hand up to pat the younger man on the cheek. "She was right about the other part too."


	8. Chapter 8

AN – I will understand if people have given up on this, its not a good sign when the author has to re-read to see where the story was going! It just somehow kept refusing to work the way I wanted it to, but I think I have a handle on it now and I am determined to finish it. I will continue to post for those who care to come along for the ride.

* * *

Gibbs stared straight ahead as the elevator carried them back up to the bullpen. Abby was right. The plan did suck. The hearing would give them the perfect opportunity to discredit Brooker as an Agent, which would satisfy Morrow and, as his defence counsel, DiNozzo would fight to protect his Boss' career and reputation. Gibbs was confident enough that all his skeletons were either well hidden or still classified.

But it left Tony high and dry.

He was pretty sure that DiNozzo had no idea just how many of the younger man's vulnerabilities he already knew about. Poppa DiNozzo was just the tip of the iceberg. The death of his mother had scarred Tony deeply, as had the succession of trophy step-mothers. He'd landed up in a military academy as some kind of punishment and acted out accordingly. College had been a brief, shining period, of acceptance and achievement, but as a rookie in Peoria the 'rich kid' had been badly hazed. By the time Gibbs got to him in Baltimore he had a file full of reprimands, because no-one knew how to handle him right.

Gibbs could relate to that.

In contrast, Brooker had been a model officer. He'd had McGee's grasp of policies and procedures, Kate's attention to detail and a service record equal to Gibbs. His file was full of official commendations, but it was the lack of personal endorsements from his superior officers that had first sparked Gibbs' concern. Not to mention that the guy had annoyed the hell of him. He hadn't liked him or his methods. DiNozzo had had less experience, a tendency to overcompensate and a more chequered record, but to Gibbs' mind there had been no contest.

"You know why I picked you as my senior field agent over Brooker?"

"Because you love me." Tony smiled goofily, lolling against the wall, his hands in his pocket.

"DiNozzo."

"Sorry Boss," Tony straightened up, taking his hands out of his pockets and tightening the knot of his tie, casting Gibbs a mock chagrined look which didn't fool the ex-gunny for an instant. "Because I have much nicer teeth?"

Gibbs gave him a look, before reaching over almost casually to bring the elevator to a halt, then stepping back into his former position, not looking at the other man as he waited. Beside him he could hear the sigh as Tony realised they weren't going anywhere until he actually answered the question. He felt the shift in DiNozzo's attitude as he shrugged off all pretence and focused.

"Because I care more about people than policies and procedures, I'm not afraid to stick my neck out to get the job done, I pay attention, especially when people think I'm not looking, I don't try and cover up my screw ups, I won't leave my partner hanging in the middle of a fire fight so I can score a commendation and I don't just tell you what I think you want to hear."

"You forgot a few things."

"I know," Tony smiled. "I was being modest."

"Now is not the time to hide your light under a bushel, DiNozzo," Gibbs cautioned. "Brooker is going to go after you with everything he's got. I want you at the top of your game. I did not make a mistake when I promoted you. You do not let him get to you, understand?

"Got it, Boss."

Inclining his head slightly in acknowledgement Gibbs reached over and set the car back in motion again. After a moment of silence Tony looked over at Gibbs, then in an uncharacteristic move he reached over and flipped the switch himself. The two of them stood there for a moment before Gibbs spoke.

"Something bothering you?"

"No," Tony lied. "Actually, yes. There's something I haven't told you, Boss."

"The e-mails?"

"You know about those?" Tony blinked.

"Not from you."

"Right," Tony pursed his lips but didn't apologise for that. "You remember when Lt Pam Kim egged my car and put me on the Herpes website?"

"As I recall I told you to have her cited for harassment."

"I know," Tony agreed. "What can I say?, I'm a nice guy."

"This have anything to do with Brooker, DiNozzo ?"

"Oh yeah, Brrr-oooker," DiNozzo drew out the word, subsiding as a glare warned him he was testing Gibbs' patience, so that the rest of his words came out in a rush. "I think this is his version of bunny boiling. He knows, Boss. About Baltimore."

* * *

Kate looked up for the third time in the last two minutes, watching her co-workers press the call button and then shake their heads in resignation and head for the stairs as the elevator doors remained firmly shut. There was no sign of either DiNozzo or Gibbs. Finally, she threw down her pen and massaged her temples, before pulling open her drawer, extracting a small bottle, from which she tipped two white tablets into her palm and chased them down with her bottle of water.

"Headache?" McGee materialised in front of her desk.

"What was your first clue?" Kate sighed. "What are they talking about in there? Brooker will be here any minute."

"I could call, Abby. See how things went in the lab? If that would make you feel better?"

"I don't need to feel better."

"Oh," McGee started to walk away. "Okay."

"Wait," Kate stopped him. "Why would I need to feel better?"

"No reason," McGee hesitated and then plunged on bravely. "I just don't think you should have said that."

"I didn't know about his mother." Kate defended herself.

"No, I meant what you said to the Boss, that made him go down to the lab in the first place, the part about Tony not thinking Gibbs likes him."

"Tony doesn't think Gibbs likes him."

"Are you sure about that?" McGee wondered. "I mean, I know sometimes he acts like it, but they seem pretty close. How else would Tony know all those things about Gibbs' ex-wives and his moods and stuff?"

"I never said Gibbs, didn't like him. I said Tony doesn't think Gibbs likes him. He's always worrying that Gibbs doesn't trust or confide in him and the one time he tried to help, Gibbs threatened to break his fingers. He was crushed."

"Um, you didn't tell Brooker about that did you?", McGee worried. "Because I don't think Gibbs really meant it."

"I'm just saying, Tony's like an over eager puppy where Gibbs is concerned. He's desperate for the slightest bit of affection or approval. You should have seen him when Gibbs was making nice with Stan Burley, I honestly thought he was going to cry."

McGee looked at her, doubt still written all over his features. Kate felt her frustration rising, she was supposed to be the profiler. She was Tony's partner. Why couldn't he see things the way that she did?

"What?" She sighed.

"Nothing."

"McGee," Kate was trying to be patient. "Don't you remember how Gibbs avoided being on the stakeout with Tony on the Voss case. Doesn't that tell you something?"

"That was just that one time. And to be accurate he wasn't talking about himself. If you recall he asked you if you wanted to be stuck in a room with DiNozzo. I think that was more about you and Tony not killing each other."

"McGee!"

"All I'm saying is, they seem like pretty good friends to me, I don't think Gibbs even knows what my favourite pizza is and neither of us have ever been to his house."

"McGee .."

Kate trailed off, looking at something over McGee's shoulder. Following her gaze he saw Brooker, in a plain grey suit and a conservative tie, holding a large briefcase. Edging discretely away, McGee signalled that he was going to call Gibbs cell.

"Jimmy," Kate smiled, a tight, brittle smile. "Or should I call you Steven?"

* * *

"We'll be there in five, McGee," Gibbs snapped his cell shut and put it in his pocket, as he continued down the hallway towards the conference room. "Brooker's here. You sure you're ready for this?"

"Kemosabe always ready." Tony straightened his shoulders.

"Alright," Gibbs turned to face his senior field agent. "We do this just like I said. We give Brooker enough rope, he'll hang himself. McGee's going to pick up Wells. How long until the package from Baltimore gets here?"

"Already on its way."

Gibbs looked up in surprise. "That was fast work."

"I tend to get really well motivated when people go after my friends."

"Kate will get over it." Gibbs assured him.

"Not just Kate."

Gibbs nodded, smiling slightly as he acknowledged the point. He'd long since stopped being surprised at the way Tony had of just turning up in his basement, during a tough case, bearing Chinese and a bottle of Jack and badgering Gibbs to watch something other than the Farm Report on his ancient TV. Or how he was one of the few people who dared to bait him, taking an obvious delight in getting the dour ex-gunny to crack a smile.

"You know what to do."

"Looking forward to it, Boss."

Tony flashed him a grin, as he flipped up his collar, slipping into his chosen persona as easily as changing his socks. Brooker preying on his insecurities, trying to best him as a junior agent and even beating the crap out of him under the guise of an undercover mission, was one thing, but Gibbs had made his expectations clear. He wanted his senior field agent to step up to the plate and Tony wasn't about to disappoint. Narrowing his eyes slightly he saw the ex-cop, pacing impatiently, watched by a small worried knot of Abby, Kate and McGee, in front of the conference room ear marked for their use.

"Show time."

Taking a leaf out of Gibbs' book he approached silently, so that he was almost on top of them before Brooker glanced up. His lips curling in a thin sneer as he caught sight of him.

"You're late, DiNozzo."

"Some of us have an actual job to do," Tony reminded him. "Catching real bad guys. Murders, rapists, serial killers, guys in criminally bad suits."

"When I'm done with you, you'll be lucky to be cleaning the head in a Federal park."

What is this?" Tony tipped his head on one side, as he plucked at the collar of Brooker's suit, feeling the material with his fingers. "Polyester?"

"Some of us don't need to use our credit cards to boost our egos. How exactly does an NCIS Agent afford such expensive shoes anyway?"

Tony leant in and patted Brooker on the cheek. "They last a _really,_ really, long time."

With a growl, Brooker reached up and gripped Tony's wrist hard enough to leave bruises, intent on twisting it as he wrenched the contact away. Only to be halted in his action as Gibbs rounded the corner.

"Put him down, Brooker."

"Boss," Booker let his hand go slack. "I was just .."

"You call me Special Agent Gibbs," Gibbs commented, without looking at him. "I'm not your Boss."

"Yeay. Go Gibbs. Sock it to him," Abby piped up, protesting as her Boss fixed her with a level look. "What? He's bad people."

"Won't get any arguments from me, Abs," Gibbs agreed, causing Kate to blink in surprise and McGee to swallow hard. "C'mon Tony, let's bury this slimeball. When we're done with him'll, he'll be lucky to be cleaning the head in a Federal jail."

"On your six, _Boss_." Tony stressed the word, as he fell in behind..

"Big mistake, Brooker-man," Abby smirked. "People going after Tony really, really, really, piss Gibbs off."


	9. Chapter 9

AN – I'm so sorry for the delay. My laptop died and the disc on which I had this, (and the next two chapters), was corrupted and I have had to painstakingly resurrect it from memory bit by bit. I swear I'm going to handwrite everything from now on!!

* * *

"There, that should do it," Abby declared in satisfaction, before peeking out from behind her monitor to check the plasma screen. "How's it looking, McGee?"

"The feed's fine," McGee bit his lip, as the inside of the conference room materialized on the screen. "But I don't think we should really be doing this."

"Then don't think," Abby came to stand beside him. "Just watch."

On one side of a large, oval, table, Brooker was carefully extracting a yellow legal pad and some pencils, which he placed along side a stack of manila folders. On the other side of the table, Gibbs sank easily into a chair, while Tony leant casually against the wall, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he affected a casual slouch. His eyes glinted with something dark and dangerous.

"Oh wow. This is going to be fun." Abby practically bounced with glee.

"Fun?" McGee looked at her, as if she had lost her mind. "Gibbs might loose his job. Tony could be discredited as an agent. How can any of this be fun?"

"Brooker made a big mistake going after Gibbs. You've never seen Tony when he's really cookin', have you?"

"What about when he rags on me?"

"That's just because he likes you," Abby dismissed that. "You have to admit you're still kind of new and shiny. Tony's just getting you out of the box and mussing you up a little, so the local LEO don't eat you for breakfast. But this, Timmy," she gestured at the screen. "Is the real deal."

"You mean like when he went undercover as that arms dealer?"

"Not even close," Abby surprised him. "I've only seen Tony go all licensed to kill like this maybe one or two times. Gibbs usually pulls him before he gets even close to this."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure," Abby, tipped her head on one side. "I never really thought about it until now."

"Looks like they're starting." McGee straightened.

On the screen the head of Internal Investigations, Thomas Markham, came into the room and took his place at the top of the table. Looking at both sides he folded his hands in front of him.

"Alright, gentlemen, as you know this is simply a preliminary hearing to ascertain whether or not there is a case to answer, concerning the complaints made against Special Agent Gibbs, regarding his treatment of Special Agent DiNozzo."

"With respect, sir," Tony spoke up. "I didn't make any complaints."

"And we're done!" Abby clapped her hands.

"I don't think its going to be that simple." McGee shook his head.

"I'm fully aware of that, son," Markham inclined his head at DiNozzo. "Just as you are fully aware that this board has an obligation to this Agency to investigate any allegations. So, shall we get started?"

Brooker rose to his feet and picked up the first of his files. "I'd like to call Special Agent Todd."

* * *

Kate settled anxiously in the chair, tugging self-consciously at her skirt and smoothing her hair in a nervous tell, before crossing her legs and waiting for Brooker to begin.

"Special Agent Todd, how long have you worked at NCIS?" Brooker began.

"Almost two years."

"And in that period, how many times have you witnessed Special Agent Gibbs threaten physical or emotional harm to Special Agent DiNozzo?"

Kate looked desperately at her Boss, but gained no comfort there as he continued to regard her with a steady, implacable gaze. Beside him, Tony was ignoring her, his eyes tracking every one of Brooker's movements, like a panther, stalking its prey.

"I don't really remember." She hedged.

"So, it's a regular occurrence?" Brooker pounced on that. "Once a month, maybe? Once a week? Or even once a day?"

"No, not every day!" Kate protested.

She immeadiately bit her tongue, feeling flustered, as she realized she had played right into Brooker's hands. She sat up a little straighter, determined to pull herself together. She didn't usually get so nervous, even in a full court hearing. Then again, she wasn't usually testifying against her co-workers. Not to mention the fact that she had dated the opposing council.

"So, not every day," Brooker glanced down at his file. "But most days."

Under his questioning Kate was forced to admit that she had seen Gibbs threatened Tony with everything from piercing his ears to unemployment. By the time he was done, Abby's eyes were bright with tears and McGee's jaw was stiff with anger to see their friends' relationship portrayed in such a twisted manner.

"It wasn't like that." Abby scowled at the screen. "You are a bad man."

"He used Kate's own e-mails," McGee swallowed over his dry mouth. "You have to admit, it doesn't look good."

"Oh, McGee of little faith," Abby gave the screen one last glare as Brooker headed towards his seat. "Tony's got it covered."

Before Brooker had even reached his place, Tony had intercepted him, snagging the file out of his hand, like a relay runner making a baton change, flipping the file open he scanned its contents, before regarding Kate with a puzzled frown.

"Special Agent Todd, how many of these threats have you ever seen Special Agent Gibbs actually carry out against Special Agent DiNozzo?"

Kate blinked, then a small smile crept across her face.

"Actually, none."

"I see," Tony nodded gravely. "And, to the best of your knowledge is Special Agent DiNozzo still presently in post as Special Agent Gibbs' senior field Agent?"

"I believe he is." Kate smiled and nodded.

"No further questions."

* * *

In contrast to Kate, Abby practically bounced into the room, waving at Gibbs, before sitting in the chair, her hands folding primly in her lap as she looked at Brooker expectantly with her best 'court' face.

"Ms Scutio, you have a close relationship with Special Agent Gibbs, do you not?"

"Gibbs is the best," Abby enthused. "He never forgets to bring me my Caff Pow in the mornings and he always remembers to say 'good job, Abs'" She affected a Gibbs voice. "When I've done something cool. And he gets the best gifts for my birthday and Christmas. He's a great, Boss."

"And how, in your opinion, does Special Agent Gibbs treat Special Agent DiNozzo?"

"Gibbs loves Tony," Abby defended him stoutly. "He gives Tony the icky Senior Field Agent stuff to do, because he knows Tony's the best and he won't barf all over the crime scene or anything. And if Tony's sick or hurt, he always makes one of us go to the Hospital with him and he always laughs at Tony's jokes, when he thinks he's not looking .."

"Ms Scutio," Brooker interrupted smoothly. "Has it occurred to you that Gibbs gives DiNozzo the 'icky' stuff to do, because he dislikes him? Or that perhaps he sends one of you with him to the Hospital, because he can't be bothered to take care of his own Agent? And that he is not, in fact, laughing at DiNozzo's jokes, but Agent DiNozzo himself?"

"Gibbs would never do that."

"But he would slap him across the back of the head?" Brokker detoured back to his stack of files and checked a figure. "Eight times in the last week alone?"

"Actually," Abby tipped her head on one side, regarding Brooker with pure dislike. "I think it was more like nine or ten times. It makes Tony feel wanted."

"And exactly how wanted do you think Agent DiNozzo felt, when he received two black eyes and a broken nose?" Brooker goaded.

"That was an accident, Abby's eyes flashed dangerously. "Gibbs would never deliberately hurt Tony. He always has his six. He wasn't the one who left him bleeding on the floor in some abandoned warehouse to save his own skin!"

"Ms Scutio," Markhan intervened. "Need I remind you to keep your comments to the issues at hand? Special Agent Brooker is not the one on trial here."

"Well, he should be." Abby huffed.

"Agent Brooker," Markhan sighed. "Do you have any more questions for this witness?"

"Not at this time, sir." Brooker retorted stiffly.

"Agent DiNozzo?"

Tony waited a beat, before pushing himself off the wall and sauntering over towards Abby, his eyes dark and unreadable as he picked up one of Brooker's pencils and ran his thumb down it slightly, before breaking it in two with an audible snap, that made Brooker go utterly pale and Gibbs' jaw twitch, as both men heard in the echo of that sound the cracking of broken bones.

"Ms Scutio, were you present in the ER last year when Special Agent DiNozzo was diagnosed with life threatening injuries, after an undercover operation?"

"Absolutely."

"Was Special Agent Gibbs there?"

"He'd come in the Ambulance with Tony. He'd already performed CPR at the scene," Abby recalled. "His hands were all covered in Tony's blood, but he wouldn't wash or anything until he got an update."

"And when he was told of the extent of Agent DiNozzo's injuries, did his reaction strike you as a man who didn't care about his Agent?"

"Objection!" Brooker surged to his feet. "I fail to see how this is relevant."

"It was Special Agent Brooker who alleged that Special Agent Gibbs didn't care enough about his own Agent to accompany him to the Hospital," Tony countered coldly. "I'm just addressing that point."

"You may answer the question, Ms Scutio." Markham nodded.

Abby looked over at Brooker.

"At that moment, I think Gibbs would have killed the men who hurt Tony without a second thought."


	10. Chapter 10

McGee tightened the knot of his tie and sat up a little straighter as he attempted to look like a competent Federal Agent. Across the room, Gibbs was looking steadily at him, as if he expected him to do the right thing. The trouble was, he has no idea what that was.

"Special Agent McGee," Brooker began. "You were at the base with Special Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo last Tuesday afternoon, were you not?"

McGee almost sagged in relief at a question he knew how to answer.

"Yes," He nodded gravely. "Yes, I was."

"Were you present when the incident report by Captain Saunders took place?"

McGee sucked in a breath, as he remembered the crackling fury in Gibbs' eyes and the way his voice, soft and deadly, carried through the air as he reamed DiNozzo out, causing McGee to shrink inside his clothes, as if he was the target of their Boss' wrath. He still didn't know how Tony had just stood there and taken it, his eyes staring straight ahead, his body stiff at attention, as the Marines sniggered softly in the background.

"Well, not exactly, present," He hedged. "They were several feet away from me, .." He visibly gulped as Gibbs' eyes narrowed. Wrong track. "Um, I mean, yes. I was there."

"According to Captain Saunders, Special Agent Gibbs pulled Agent DiNozzo up for goofing off on the job. Is that correct?"

"Yes," McGee nodded, and then realized how that sounded. "That is, Agent Gibbs thought Tony was goofing off. In fact he was gathering some intel that was pivotal to solving the case."

"So, of course, Special Agent Gibbs apologized for his error." Brooker smirked knowingly.

"Not in so many words." McGee hedged.

"It's a simple question, Agent McGee," Markham looked up with a frown. "Did Agent Gibbs apologize or not?"

McGee thought about the bleak look on Gibbs' face as Tony managed the ride all the way back from the base in total silence. His involuntary step forward as DiNozzo stumbled from the truck and braced himself with one hand as he vomited, thin, liquid bile onto the parking lot. None of them had stopped for lunch, but Tony had been the only one pushing himself to the limit playing B-Ball with a bunch of Marines, to get what they needed. Gibbs had ordered Kate to fetch him some water and sent McGee to fetch some takeout before he walked away. Looking back, McGee realised that Gibbs had been trying to apologise, in his own way. Except that Tony had probably been too sick and tired to connect Ducky's arrival in the parking lot with their Boss' abrupt disappearance.

"No, sir," McGee gave the only answer he could. "He did not."

"No further questions."

This time Tony didn't move. Still lounging against the wall, he looked up and met McGee's gaze. Tipping his head on one side he enquired almost blandly. "When you returned to the Navy Yard, Special Agent DiNozzo became unwell. How did Special Agent Gibbs react?"

McGee blinked. Maybe Tony had noticed, after all.

"Um, he provided food, water and medical attention."

"Does that strike you as the actions of a man holding a grudge?"

"Objection," Brooker surged to his feet. "The fact that Special Agent Gibbs was prepared to provide basic medical care, is not an acceptable indication of regret. Any one would do the same."

"You think so?" Tony looked over at Brooker, his eyes dark and hard as emeralds. "You've obviously never met my father."

* * *

Gibbs walked briskly down the corridor, balancing the two Styrofoam cups with practised ease. The fifteen-minute recess Markham had allowed after Tony's pronouncement had only just been enough for him to get to the coffee shop and back, given how busy the place always was at this time in the morning and he was afraid he was going to be tardy. As he rounded the corner he was surprised to see DiNozzo still stretched out on the leather couch opposite the conference room, apparently asleep. Except for the fingers drumming relentlessly on his knee.

Not a good sign.

"Markham had to take a call," Tony spoke without opening his eyes. "You have time to drink your coffee."

Hiding his pride at DiNozzo's awareness of his surroundings, Gibbs swatted him lightly on the legs, causing the younger man to swing around and drop his feet to the floor to make room, cracking an eye as his Boss settled in beside him.

"If you're buying me coffee, things must be worse than I thought."

Gibbs hesitated only slightly, both of the coffees had actually been for him, having to just sit there and listen to Brooker was sticking in his craw, but recognising the opening he needed, he passed one of the coffees over without a second thought. Tony gave him a slightly hooded look, before cracking the lid of the cup and gulping at the dark, strong, liquid without even mentioning the lack of cream and sugar.

A very bad sign.

"McGee's gone to fetch Wells and Kate's pulling up the case file on Archer, the package has been slightly delayed but will still be leaving Baltimore in time," Tony reported between gulps of his coffee. "Ducky's up next. Brooker doesn't know what's hit him. I think we've got him on the ropes, Boss."

"You're in too deep." Having carefully considered what he was going to to say, Gibbs had decided to go with the bald truth.

"I know what I'm doing, Jethro."

The quiet steely tone was threaded through with determination and the unaccustomed use of his given name stressed the younger man's driving need to see this thing through. However, it was that need, bordering on obsession, that was concerning Gibbs. He wanted this bastard as much as anyone. But he wasn't about to allow the younger man to prostitute his childhood pain to achieve it.

"Boss," Gibbs insisted softly. "You do as I say, DiNozzo."

"Gibbs." The word was a plea.

"No," Gibbs tone was uncompromising. It was his job to watch Tony's six. "I will not let Brooker do this to you again."

Tony had to glance away at the unequivocal support. Gibbs had done more for him than anyone he had ever met. He had taught him, encouraged him, believed in him and shown him more care and attention in the last three years than his own father had ever managed. Which was why he had to make the ex-gunny understand just how important this was to him.

"Look, my whole life, my father never gave me anything I really needed. If the things he did to me can help take out Brooker and save our careers, then at least everything I went through won't have been for nothing. It'll mean something good."

Gibbs looked at him, for a long moment, openly assessing his determination and his ability to pull this off unscathed.

"When this is over, you tell me this 'everything'.

"Of course," Tony scoffed lightly. "Because you've already shared so much of your past."

The head slap was barely noticeable, designed more to return them both to some semblance of normality, than truly chastise. Tony didn't even pretend to flinch. Instead, he relaxed slightly, grounded by the familiar gesture.

"Do as I say, DiNozzo, not as I do," Gibbs advised him softly. "There are some things about me I don't want to teach you."

Tony nodded his understanding of that.

"Got it, Boss."

* * *

As the proceedings reconvened Ducky walked into the conference room and settled himself into the chair with the minimum of fuss. Looking up he cleared his throat and indicated to Markham with a sharp nod that he was ready to begin.

"Dr Mallard," Brooker rose to his feet. "According to his records, you are Special Agent DiNozzo's personal physician. Is that correct?"

"You don't need his records to verify that," Ducky scoffed lightly. "You saw me treat him on more than one occasion when you were TAD with Gibbs."

Brooker pressed his lips together but gamely pressed on.

"Forgive me Doctor, but given your particular speciality, isn't that a little unusual?"

"Not really," Ducky shrugged. "I am a qualified physician. In fact, I've been treating patients since before you were born. My first practice was in Edinburgh, this converted Victorian house. Yes, I can see it quite clearly. We had to put the examination table .."

"Dr Mallard," Markham cleared his throat. "If you don't mind?"

"Oh, of course," Ducky nodded. "Maybe, another time."

"Dr Mallard," Brooker tried to get things back on track. "In the time that Special Agent DiNozzo has been employed at NCIS, how many work related injuries has he sustained?"

"Well, that all depends," Ducky mused. "I mean, the Y-Pestis was more of a sickness than an injury and the time he twisted his ankle questioning those Marines was more of an accident really.."

"Let me be more specific," Brooker cut in. "How many times has Special Agent DiNozzo required medical care due to Special Agent Gibbs' negligence?"

"I don't really think…," Ducky began stiffly.

"Just answer the question, if you would, Doctor." Markham observed mildly.

"Special Agent DiNozzo is a Federal Agent. In this line of work danger of death or injury is any ever present possibility. Any man or woman in that building courts the grim reaper on an almost daily basis. Jethro is an experienced Agent who does everything in his power to ensure the safety of his people."

"And yet he failed to intercept the envelope containing the Y-Pestis, contrary to the regulations that all suspect mail should be passed to the team lead. And on another occasion his negligence allowed Special Agent DiNozzo to work undercover without sufficient backup, which resulted in Agent DiNozzo being drugged and kidnapped. Not to mention the time he stood and watched as his Agent was pushed out of a plane despite knowing that he had not received adequate parachute training."

"As I said," Ducky insisted. "It's a dangerous job. Special Agent DiNozzo is an extremely competent Federal Agent. As Senior Field Agent it is part of his job to protect the team lead. If Agent Gibbs had opened that envelope, given his greater age and his history of smoking when he was in the service, it would almost certainly have resulted in his demise. As to needing back-up, surely the fact that Anthony was able to free not only himself but the poor Marine as well, surely suggests that Jethro's confidence in his abilities was not misplaced. As for the unfortunate parachute incident if you had bother to read the officer in charge's report, you would know that he had already been cleared to jump."

"And yet on each of those occasions, Agent DiNozzo required medical treatment," Brooker glanced down at his file. "For torn ligaments, dehydration plus lacerations on his back and arms and, of course, his two week stay in Bethesda, followed by another week at home."

"I'm not sure what point you are trying to make, Special Agent Brooker. You know very well Jethro has never knowingly inflicted injury on young Anthony." Ducky's tone hardened.

"Dr Mallard?" Markham raised a brow enquiringly.

"As Special Agent DiNozzo's personal physician I was involved in his care after he returned from the undercover mission protecting the Admiral's son. Those welts were neither accidental nor self-inflicted."

"Welts?" Markham frowned.

"With respect, Sir," Brooker cut in. "This line of questioning is not relevant to this case. I suggest we move on."

"I will decide what is and isn't relevant, thank you, Agent Brooker," Markham dismissed him coolly. "Continue, Dr Mallard."

"There has only been one occasion when Special Agent DiNozzo has been injured on a case due to the deliberate negligence of another NCIS Agent. And the person responsible on that occasion was not Leroy Jethro Gibbs, but his acting Senior Field Agent, one Steven James Brooker."


	11. Chapter 11

Gibbs watched grimly as Brooker shuffled through his files, intent on finding a witness who could head these allegations against him off at the pass. He wasn't surprised when he picked on the Marine liaison officer. He didn't have to like Brooker to know the Agent was far from stupid.

"Colonel Dawson," Brooker began. "You accompanied Admiral Walker to NCIS to discuss the undercover operation to safeguard his son during training, is that correct?"

"That's right," Dawson nodded. "Marines at the base were presenting with an unusually high number of training injuries. No-one was talking, but the Admiral was concerned that the training officer was abusing his authority. He was worried, both for the safety of his son as a recruit, and for the reputation of the Corps. He wanted NCIS to investigate."

"So, Special Agent Gibbs was fully aware that the Agent who took on the assignment would experience mental or even physical abuse?"

"They'd be going in as a Marine Reservist on a firearms refresher course, be just like any other member of the training squad, so if there was anything going on, they'd be right in the thick of it." Dawson nodded.

"And who did Special Agent Gibbs recommend for this assignment?"

"He recommended that young fellow over there, Special Agent DiNozzo. But the Admiral wouldn't go for it. He said they needed a Marine not a dammed Mannequin. If you'll excuse the expression."

"Admiral Walker didn't believe that Special Agent DiNozzo was capable of handling the assignment?"

"No," Dawson agreed. "I guess not."

"How did Special Agent Gibbs react to the news that Agent DiNozzo wasn't going to head up the operation?" Markham looked up.

"He wasn't best pleased," Dawson recalled wryly. "He followed us back up to the Director's office and said something about Agent Brooker here being kinda a stuffed shirt. He might look more like a Marine than DiNozzo, but he didn't think like one, couldn't act like one and sure as hell wasn't one where it counted. But the Admiral didn't hold with it. He figured Brooker for the older and more experienced Agent."

"And Special Agent Gibbs accepted his choice."

"The hell he did," Dawson chuckled. "He told us to come down to the firing range that afternoon and he'd show us a Marine."

"And what happened when you went down to the firing range, Colonel Dawson?" Markham enquired.

"Agent Brooker was there and he sure looked the part, all spit and polish. Although, the Admiral was kinda concerned, because he was supposed to be joining a firearms refresher course and his grouping was a little off. Anyways, just further down the line, the Admiral saw this young guy, all high and tight, looked like a Marine recruiting poster, and his grouping was real nice. The Admiral's face sure was a picture when he saw it was DiNozzo."

"You cut your hair, Agent DiNozzo?" Markham enquired.

"Actually, sir," Markham cut in. "Special Agent Gibbs was the one who cut Agent DiNozzo's hair."

"So, the decision to place Agent DiNozzo undercover, despite his inexperience, and the Admiral's objections, was entirely down to Special Agent Gibbs?" Markham frowned.

"Yes," Dawson nodded. "I reckon it was."

* * *

Standing at the rear of the elevator Tony watched the stiff set of Gibbs' shoulders radiating fury as he waited for the car doors to open. As soon as they parted, he was striding forth, scattering the Agents waiting in the lobby like Moses parting the red sea, as he moved determinedly, towards his objective. 

"Mario's."

The single word from his senior field Agent stopped him in his tracks. But he didn't turn.

"I want coffee."

"Mario's has coffee," Tony pointed out. "And my gut wants a Pizza."

Gibbs didn't respond, but when they exited onto the sidewalk he turned left instead of right, away from the nearest Starbuck's and in the direction of the small, family run, Italian Restaurant. One look at Gibbs' thunderous expression as the hearing broke for lunch had been enough to encourage the well-meaning posse of Kate and McGee to find other things to do. Ducky had offered to accompany them, but a quick shake of Tony's head had reassured him that the younger man had everything under control.

"It wasn't your fault." Tony spoke quietly.

"The hell it wasn't," Gibbs almost spat the words. The Admiral had made his feelings plain. Even the Director had been happy to go with Brooker. It was only because he had pushed and pushed for DiNozzo as well that he had found himself on his hands and knees in that dammed warehouse, doing CPR, as Tony lay pale and unresponsive. "I was the one who cut your hair!"

"And I let you." Tony met his gaze.

"_I can't believe you're really going to let him do this!" Abby exclaimed._

"_In Baltimore I got my ear pierced when I went undercover as a drug dealer and I wore eye liner and one of your leather collars when we did surveillance in that club near Du Pont circle, I can do this," The green eyes which met Gibbs' gaze in the mirror didn't look quite as assured as the words sounded. "It'll grow back, right?"_

"_Never know, you might decide you like wearing it like this." Gibbs offered._

_Tony swallowed hard._

"_No offence, Boss. But I think it's an acquired taste."_

"You had no idea what you were getting into." Gibbs dismissed that.

He was the senior field Agent. He was the one who was supposed to watch his people's backs. Not send them out on an undercover mission, which left them battered, and bleeding in a pool of urine and vomit.

"And neither did you," Tony shot back. "You didn't know that Archer would lose it like that. Or that Brooker would bail on me. You want to blame anyone, you blame them."

Gibbs rounded on DiNozzo, his hand snaking out to grasp the younger man by the throat as he pushed him up against the nearest building, his eyes sparking with anger.

"You. Nearly. Died."

"But I didn't," Tony met his gaze. "You saved me."

Feeling the warm, beating pulse under his hand, Gibbs relaxed his grip a little, casting a small, apologetic look at DiNozzo, as he released him. The bruises around his eyes were already yellowing at the edges, but his nose was still too swollen to wear his sunglasses comfortably.

"I should have pulled you out earlier," Gibbs looked away. "As soon as things started to go bad."

* * *

_Gibbs forced himself to remain seated as DiNozzo was marched in. At a glance, he could see that the younger man had dropped a few more pounds and judging by the stiffness of his movements had picked up a couple more bruises. At Gibbs' nod, the escorting officer melted away, leaving DiNozzo still standing rigidly at attention._

"_You waiting for me to say, 'at ease soldier'?" Gibbs raised a brow._

_Tony blinked and recovered a little of his usual equilibrium as he sank into the empty chair on the other side of the table. The ex-Marine watched quietly as he went through the various mental processes required to shrug off his undercover persona. _

_He didn't quite make it all the way._

"_Talk to me, DiNozzo."_

_He listened carefully, as his junior Agent outlined the movements of various officers and recruits on the base. If anything DiNozzo sounded a little too normal, embellishing his summary with even more of the lively commentary and comic asides that generally featured in his reports in the bullpen. _

_Like he was trying too hard._

_Gibbs made a few notes, occasionally asking for clarification, or demanding further information, all the while noting the quick flash of a yellowing bruise under a cuff, the dark hollows outlining his eyes and the careful way DiNozzo held himself, as if any sudden movement would invite unpleasant retribution._

"_You managing to stay under Archer's radar?"_

_Even before he asked the question, Gibbs knew the answer. Tony's role here was to deflect attention from the Admiral's son and the only way he could do that with a sadist like Archer, was to put himself in the line of fire. Still, DiNozzo was a master of obfuscation and deflection. It was one of the reasons Gibbs had chosen him for the task._

"_Sometimes." Tony shrugged lightly._

_Which meant sometimes not. Gibbs schooled his expression, even as his grip tightened on the pencil. When this was over that bastard was going to have to answer to him. Glancing across at his young Agent, he was struck, not the first time, how hard he was to read. DiNozzo had had far too much practise at hiding his real feelings._

_He wanted to pull him out. At that moment he wanted nothing more than to get DiNozzo off that base and then go and kick seven bells out of whoever had taught the younger man that his pain wasn't as important as other people's. But DiNozzo was an NCIS Agent, a dammed good one at that. And they both had a job to do. _

_Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the candy bar._

"_You should eat something."_

_The look of pleased surprise on DiNozzo's face at that small kindness spoke volumes. Relaxing into a genuine smile, he reached out and eagerly tore off the wrapper, taking a satisfied bite, before regarding Gibbs with a look of blissful pleasure._

"_Thanks, Boss."_

_Gibbs felt his own lips curl at the edges, as he met the younger man's gaze. Nodding slightly in acknowledgement, he turned away, not looking back as he spoke._

"_Watch your six, DiNozzo."_

"Hate to break it to you, Boss," Tony shook his head lightly. "But there are some things even Marines can't fix."

That brought Gibbs' gaze around sharply and as he saw DiNozzo's suddenly embarrassed expression, he recalled that things had started to go bad for the younger man a long time before they had ever met.


	12. Chapter 12

Gibbs chewed furiously on his steak as he recalled the bleak look that had flashed across DiNozzo's face. In the time he had worked with the younger man he had encountered all his personas. At their first meeting he had quickly seen through the goof-ball façade, as the Baltimore cop had assessed the NCIS Agent in a single, narrowed-eyed, glance and reeled off the facts of the case, without so much as a glance at his notebook.

Since then, he had seen DiNozzo run the gauntlet from staring down the barrel of a gun without flinching, as he talked a crazed killer out of pulling the trigger, to whooping with genuine joy as he scored the winning basket for NCIS over the FBI. Through the years, the dregs of humanity had crossed their paths, cases harrowing in their intensity, yet Gibbs had only once seen _that_ particular look on his Agent's face. The murder of an eleven year old boy, who had been beaten to death by his own father. Just thinking about that, he cut viciously into his meat, bearing down so heavily with his knife that a piece shot off his plate and across the room, causing several heads in the dining room to turn.

"Um, Boss? I think its already dead." Tony observed from across the table.

Gibbs sent his senior field Agent a glare that would have melted a lesser man. Tony simply flashed him his most annoying smile, as he chewed peaceably on his Pizza. That worried Gibbs as much as anything. As they had entered the restaurant, DiNozzo had simply shrugged off his emotions, conversing with the Maitre D' and flirting with the waitress, as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"Brooker's not finished with that line of questioning yet." Gibbs observed.

It wasn't what he wanted to say, but it was a start. He speared another piece of steak and chewed slowly as he watched for DiNozzo's reaction. The way he shifted guiltily in his seat, was a surprise.

"That's what I've got Wells for.

Gibbs froze. The steak suddenly tasting like ashes in his mouth. He forced himself to swallow, despite the rising nausea in his gut at the realisation. DiNozzo looked down, which merely confirmed his suspicions.

"It wasn't Archer who beat you that day. It was Brooker."

"Boss, .."

"Not a dammed word, DiNozzo," Gibbs cut him off. When Tony had confessed that some of his injuries on that mission were down to the acting senior field Agent, rahter than their suspect, the ex-Marine hadn't imagined anything like this. "I saw those welts, remember? That kind of damage goes way beyond maintaining his cover. Why the hell didn't you report Brooker at the time?"

"Its complicated." Tony's looked away.

Gibbs' anger instantly melted away. Most of the time Tony talked about his father's treatment of him as if it was a normal part of family life. Sometimes, as if it was actually amusing. When he closed down like this, things were pretty bad and Gibbs wasn't about to go poking a stick in an unhealed wound.

"Yeah, I get that," He agreed softly. The gentle tone, brought DiNozzo's head around, his eyes questioning. Gibbs shrugged an awkward shoulder, unsure how far he should reveal his hand. He settled on a soft half-smile, trying to take the impact out of his words. " Its not SOP to have a Medical Examiner as your personal physician."

"You know." Tony realised.

* * *

Gibbs frowned through his binoculars as Tony stumbled slightly, struggling to make his way across the uneven terrain. His face was unusually pale and beads of sweat stood out on his forehead. As the movement shifted his heavy pack slightly, Gibbs saw a grimace of pain crease his features. 

"Something's wrong."

Putting the camouflaged NCIS truck into gear he was already planning the fastest intercept course. Beside him, Donald Mallard put his hand on the dashboard to steady himself and endured the bone shaking ride without comment, as Gibbs used the cover of the woods to pull up alongside his flagging Agent.

"Get in."

DiNozzo put his hands on his thighs and struggled to control his breathing. Without looking at his Boss, he shook his head. "Got another 5K to go."

"In case you hadn't noticed, DiNozzo, you are _not_ a Marine," Gibbs snapped, concern making his tone sharper than he realised. "Now get in the dammed truck."

DiNozzo gave him a swift, unreadable, look, before his expression completely blanked, although his jaw clenched tight as he struggled to hold onto his feelings. Avoiding eye contact with Gibbs he straightened up and walking around the truck, with his pack still on his shoulders, to drop it in the back.

"That was uncalled for, Jethro." Ducky's tone was reproving.

"DiNozzo answers to me."

Gibbs ground the words out. DiNozzo was his Agent. And it was killing him to stand by and watch the younger man be physically and mentally abused by a man not worthy to wear the uniform. By the way DiNozzo was moving he just knew Archer had laid into him again. He'd _told_ him to watch his six.

"I meant the part about him not being a Marine," Ducky surprised him. "He may not have your years of experience, but Anthony is really a very capable and determined young man. And much stronger than he appears."

Gibbs looked sharply across at his friend, his blue eyes narrowing. He knew better than to think Mallard was thinking about the size of his pecs.

"You know something, Duck?"

"I know many things, Jethro, most of which are covered by the Hippocratic oath," Ducky gave a small, regretful sigh.

Gibbs grunted, respecting the MD's professional boundaries. Besides, Ducky had already told him all he needed to know. And if he was honest, nothing he didn't already suspect. There was far more to DiNozzo than met the eye.

"I didn't mean it like that." Gibbs sighed tiredly, referring to his earlier comment.

"I know that," Mallard said consolingly. A quick backward glance warned him that DiNozzo was approaching. He lowered his voice. "But perhaps it wouldn't help to reassure young Anthony of that fact. Your good opinion is really very important to him."

* * *

He made the trip as short as possible, driving much slower than usual and detesting the necessarily to get them away from prying eyes, every time he saw a flicker of pain pass across DiNozzo's expression as the truck jolted on the un-metalled terrain as they headed towards some suitable cover. 

He waited until Ducky had coaxed the younger man out of the trunk, settling him on a rock and chivvying him out of his shirt, as he set out his medical supplies. Grabbing a bottle of water from behind the front seat he walked up to DiNozzo, unscrewing the top as he did so.

"Here."

DiNozzo gave the open bottle a dismissive glance, before he looked away.

"I'm good, thanks."

Gibbs held on to his patience. He wasn't one to mollycoddle his Agents. He had high standards and he expected them to live up to them. But he had been angry and he'd been wrong and he could hardly expect DiNozzo to respect him as team lead if he wasn't prepared to acknowledge his own mistakes.

"Even Marines need water."

Tony's head lifted at that, as much at the conciliatory tone, as the words themselves. Searching Gibbs gaze, he was gratified when the ex-Gunny gave an awkward half smile in apology, as he offered the water again. Reaching out, Tony wrapped his fingers around it slowly, accepting the peace offering. Gibbs held his gaze as he drank.

"Jethro."

Something in Mallard's quiet tone made the hairs on Gibbs neck stand up. He circled around to stand beside the MD and felt his breath catch in his throat as he saw the angry red welts crossing DiNozzo's back. The lower two were bleeding sluggishly where the weight of his pack had rubbed against it.

"Start talking, DiNozzo." Gibbs commanded.

"Archer decided that the unit needed a little motivation," DiNozzo reported, without turning. "He was picking on the Admiral's kid. How does the son of a decorated Navy Officer turn out to be such a geek anyway? I mean, isn't there supposed to be some kind of Marine gene?"

"DiNozzo." Gibbs warned.

"We needed evidence," Tony pointed out, twisting his neck around to look his Boss straight in the eye. "You said yourself, Archer's record is spotless. Without something concrete it would just be our word against his."

"So, you decided to turn yourself into the crime scene?" Gibbs ran a frustrated hand through his hair, to avoid slapping the younger man on the back of the head. He was mad as hell, and DiNozzo didn't need a concussion on top of .. _that_. "What the hell did he do to you?"

"I'd say some sort of wooden stick," Ducky observed. "You see how the laceration here ends in a blunt line, slightly deeper than .."

"Ducky!"

Mallard blinked at Tony's expression of outrage.

"I do apologise, Anthony," Mallard shook his head remorsefully. "That was unforgivable. I'm not accustomed to having patients who can speak for themselves."

Gibbs said nothing. His eyes were fixed on DiNozzo's back. Below the last bleeding welt, there was a thin, silvery scar, almost invisible, the product of expert, and dammed expensive, medical treatment. But Gibbs knew enough about such things to realise it would have taken significant damage to leave scarring like that.

* * *

"You never asked." Tony observed. 

"No," Gibbs agreed, as he rose to his feet and pulled out some cash, leaving enough bills on the table to cover the bill. "Never did."

At the time it hadn't seemed important. A single glance at Ducky had been enough to confirm his suspicions that the abuse had occurred when DiNozzo was a child. After that, he'd gone looking, using his security contacts to hack into DiNozzo's childhood medical records. What he had found had horrified him. But he'd been astute enough to realize that if Tony hadn't chosen to pursue the matter, either as a cop or a Federal Agent, then his interference was unlikely to be welcome. DiNozzo would most likely feel betrayed that he'd gone behind his back.

He knew what it was like to want to keep secrets, after all.

He'd also been arrogant enough to think that he could fix things. He knew his steady presence had done a lot to undo the damage DiNozzo's father had caused. Still, he couldn't help but feel that he'd somehow failed his 'Probie' by not pushing harder at the time. Tony needed to know that he had his six.

He wouldn't make that mistake with Brooker.


	13. Chapter 13

"Alright," Abby scooted her chair back from the mass spectrometer, towards the plasma screen, where Kate and McGee were following the proceedings in the conference room. "I'm back. What did I miss?"

"Not much," McGee responded, as he bit into his sandwich. "They're just back from lunch. Wells is up next."

"What's so special about this Thomas Wells that McGee had to go bring him in?" Kate wanted to know.

"He was one of the trainees when Tony and Brooker went undercover," Abby replied. "Archer was like this hot-shot training officer whose platoons always had the highest scores ever. At his court martial Wells testified how Archer used all these unofficial punishments to make sure his guys either shaped up or shipped out. Like, if your weapon jammed because you hadn't cleaned it properly, you'd have to stand in a cold shower till you turned blue so you understood the meaning of clean."

"How is that relevant here?"

"You and Brooker didn't talk much when you were dating, did you?"

"Mostly, I talked, he listened," Kate made a face. "At the time I thought it was refreshing. I should have known there was a catch."

"Archer ordered the punishments, but most of the time he got other people to carry 'em out."

"Brooker?" Kate protested. "Abby, Brooker was an NCIS Agent undercover. He wouldn't just stand by and let Archer persecute those trainees. Much less participate."

"Not the trainees," Abby made a face. "Just Tony."

McGee felt the bile rise in his throat. DiNozzo's teasing might be relentless, but it was never mean spirited. On the contrary, the ex-homicide detective often went out of his way to shield the easily flustered probie from Gibbs' mounting impatience. He couldn't imagine what it must have been like to be the junior agent to a man like Steven Brooker.

"That's Wells coming in now." He pointed out.

Up on the plasma Wells cast a haunted look at Brooker as he entered the conference room and nervously made his way to the chair. Abby bit her lip and was gratified to see Markham frown and make a note on his pad. Glancing across she saw Gibbs' jaw tighten. Beside him, Tony was lounging back in his chair, twirling his pencil as if he didn't have a care in the world.

Abby knew better.

"C'mon Gibbs," She clenched her fists as she willed the lead agent to notice that something was wrong as Tony began to rise. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon. Yes!" She jumped up and down in relief as the Italian's ascent was halted by a firm hand on his arm. Tony gave his Boss a searching look, as Gibbs leaned in, his voice pitched for his senior field agent's ears only.

"What's Gibbs saying?" McGee wondered.

"I'll do this." Abby lip read.

"Gibbs is going to question Wells?" McGee stood up a little straighter.

"I knew he couldn't hold out for long," Kate smirked.

"This isn't about Gibbs taking over the interrogation," Abby shook his head. "This is about him looking out for Tony."

In the conference room, Gibbs smiled easily as he approached the Marine, who was sitting stiffly at attention, looking as if he was about to face a firing squad.

"You remember me?"

"Yes sir," Wells nodded. "We met at the Hospital. You're Tony's boss, Special Agent Gibbs."

"Before that meeting, did you have any idea that Tony was NCIS?"

"No sir. He sure didn't act like a Navy cop, everybody liked Tony," Wells coloured slightly as he realised how that might sound. "What I mean is, he fitted right in, sir."

"He was a good Marine?"

"Yes sir," Wells answered without hesitation. "Man was a credit to the Corps. Especially, the way he looked out for his brother Marines."

* * *

"_Oh man," Wells sighed as Walker slipped and fell face down in the mud for the second time in as many minutes. "Not again."_

"_C'mon, sleeping beauty," Tony seized Walker by the arm and hauled him to his feet. "Run now. Nap later. Preferably on a nice warm beach, sipping a cocktail with one of those little coloured parasols in it."_

"_I ..can't. I .. can't .. run .. anymore." Walker wheezed._

"_Maybe we should give him a breather," Wells worried, as Tony used his thumb to clean the mud from Walker's eyes. "He don't look so good."_

_Looking up and down the trail Tony checked his watch and decided they were far enough ahead of the next group to risk taking a couple of minutes. Especially since he had had Abby use GPS to locate all the checkpoints for him._

"_Isn't this cheating?" she'd asked._

"_I prefer to think of it as using my initiative," Tony had grinned._

"_Alright," Towing Walker over to the nearest boulder, Tony deposited him on it, regarding him with a mixture of sympathy and exasperation, as his laboured breathing showed no signs of abating. "You've never even seen the Defiant Ones, have you?"_

"_Is that .. a .. movie?"_

"_Never mind." Tony shook his head, as he walked away, pulling out his canteen to take a drink, using the activity as an excuse to put some distance between himself and the others. Crouching down behind a nearby tree he glanced quickly around, before covertly pulling his cell phone from his sock. It picked up on the first ring._

"_Gibbs." _

"_Archer's deliberately setting the Admiral's kid up to fail, Boss," Tony spoke without preamble. "This morning he got him up at 0400 and had him cleaning kit for the whole platoon, right before a training run. He's dead on his feet."_

_Gibbs switched his phone to his other ear as he reached for something across his desk. If he knew DiNozzo, the junior agent hadn't got much shut eye either._

"_You help him?"_

"_You know what they say about sleep," Tony shrugged it off. "It's overrated. Seriously Boss, he can't take much more of this. He's going to make a mistake and get himself or someone else killed."_

"_Alright," Gibbs trusted DiNozzo's instincts. If he thought it was time to pull the plug, he'd set things in motion. "You think Walker'll testify?"_

"_I think he'd sell his own grandmother if it meant he could get out of the Corps," Tony scanned the clearing, alert for any movement. "Which means any halfway decent JAG lawyer's going to make mincemeat out of him. He's no good to us. On the other hand, Thomas Wells is a third generation Marine. His evidence will go a long way to proving that Archer's a disgrace to the uniform."_

"_If his first loyalty is to the Corps, you can't be sure he'll testify against a superior officer." Gibbs warned._

"_He'll testify." Tony hesitated. "He owes me."

* * *

_

Gibbs tilted his head as he regarded Wells curiously. Under his scrutiny Wells shifted slightly in his chair, casting an anxious look at Brooker, before swallowing hard in obvious discomfort. Gibbs bit back a sigh; he knew he should have dug harder into this at the time. But he'd been too pre-occupied with bringing down Archer to see what was right in front of his face.

"Don't look at him. Look at me." Gibbs instructed softly.

"Yes sir." Wells nodded, shifting his gaze back.

"Walker wasn't the only Marine that Special Agent DiNozzo was looking out for during his undercover assignment, was he?"

"No sir." Wells admitted miserably.

"Relax, son," Markham cut in. "You're not the one on trial here. Just tell it like it was."

"I messed up, sir," Wells shook his head. "We were out on the range and I was feeling pretty sick, sweats and stomach cramps, the whole nine yards, my scores just weren't making the grade. I had a wife and a young baby to think of, I couldn't afford to flunk out just because I ate some bad chow."

"It never occurred to you to report to the infirmary?" Gibbs enquired.

"Might as well have signed my own bad conduct discharge papers, sir. You didn't get sick. Not under Captain Archer's command."

"So, Agent DiNozzo covered for you?"

"We'd got pretty tight over the last couple of weeks. He was a real good guy, looking out for Walkerand all. And sometimes he mouthed off at Archer, just so the Captain would rag on him rather than one of the others. But I would never have asked him to do it, sir. Tony was too much like this guy I knew in High School, real slick at hiding the bruises and always a good reason for 'em. Tony was weird like that, he'd whine like a girl over a hang nail, but he never made a sound when Archer was beating on him."

Gibbs bit the inside of his cheek, hard, as he fought to keep his voice and face expressionless, thanking God that he'd had enough sense not to have DiNozzo do this.

"Archer beat him for this?"

"No sir, this time he passed him off onto Special Agent Brooker. He beat the crap out of him with some kind of stick or broom handle or something. And that wasn't the only time."

"Objection!" Brooker protested. "At Captain Archer's court martial this man's own testimony established that he regularly used such methods of discipline. I .."

"If the next words out of your mouth are 'I was only following orders' Gibbs spoke venomously. "I will come over there and personally rip your throat out with my bare hands. You were still an NCIS Agent under the direction of a federal agency and those sure as hell weren't my orders."

Brooker stilled, for the first time a hint of genuine fear showing in his eyes as he tried to face down his former Boss. But his voice was cold and contemptuous.

"I want this Marine denoted as a hostile witness. There is no way you can prove it _wasn't_ Archer."

Gibbs walked back to the table, deliberately circling around the back of DiNozzo and reaching over his shoulder, resting his free hand on the back of his chair and leaning in close enough to brush his neck with his cheek, as he pulled out the white envelope that Wells had passed to Tony in the coffee shop.

"When this is all over, I'm going to want a damn good reason why you kept this from me." He murmured sotto voice.

"You'll get it." Tony assured him.

Ignoring Markham, Gibbs walked straight over to Brooker and laid the photo on the table. Even from across the room, Tony could see where his bruised and battered face stared up in glorious Technicolor, the soft ragged edge of his split lip gaping slightly over white teeth.

"You were saying?"

Looking down at the picture, Brooker swallowed hard and he visably paled.


	14. Chapter 14

"Oh," Abby clapped her hands. "I see where he's going with this. This is soo cool. Look at Brooker squirm. There is no way he's going to escape the wrath of Gibbs now."

"I take it there's been a development of the more dramatic nature?" Ducky asked, as he entered the lab, stripping off his gloves. "Our adulterous friend in the morgue needed my urgent attention, it seems his faulty heart valve may get Seaman Wallace off the hook, for murder at least, the amount of physical damage he inflicted was by no means enough to kill an ordinarily healthy man."

"Gibbs is showing Brooker a photograph of Tony's face," McGee looked enquiringly at Mallard. "He's not looking too happy."

"Jethro or Brooker?" Ducky enquired, as he stepped up to the screen. "Ah, a little of both, I see. Well, I suppose it was bound to come out eventually, although I dare say Jethro wasn't best pleased to discover that we had kept this from him."

"Oh my God," Abby clapped her hand to her mouth. "I totally forgot about that part. Gibbs is going to kill us."

"Will someone please tell me what exactly is going on?" Kate demanded.

"When I first examined Tony after the incident in the warehouse, I commented on the damage to his face," Ducky informed her. "None of Archer's other victims had ever reported with facial injuries. Even cross checking with the medical records on the base the incidences of accidental facial trauma during training for that particular course were actually below what one would usually expect."

"It didn't fit Archer's MO." McGee realised.

"Indeed," Ducky frowned. "Of course, when I questioned young Anthony, he was rather close mouthed at first, if you'll forgive the expression. He was determined to deal with it in his own way. He really is remarkably like Jethro in that respect. The two of them are both too stubborn to realise that sometimes you just have to ask for help. It reminds me of a young man I once knew in Hollywood .."

"Ducky," Kate asked patiently. "What happened to Tony?"

"Oh well, the poor boy was already so badly hurt and pumped full of drugs, I'm afraid I had him at a disadvantage. You know, if only people would realise that a little simple human kindness is often far more likely to loosen the tongue than all this brutality, then my job would be a lot easier."

"Tony admitted that Brooker was the one that hit him in the face," Abby put in. "Trouble was, his other injuries were so extensive that there wasn't enough good forensics to prove that it wasn't Archer. So, when it looked like we didn't have a case, the Director decided .."

"Wait a minute," Kate's eyes widened. "The Director was involved in this?"

"Oops," Abby cast a guilty look at Ducky as she bit her lip. "I probably shouldn't have mentioned that part should I?"

* * *

In the conference room, Gibbs didn't take his eyes off a shaken Steven Brooker as he continued to question Wells. Across, the room, Markham had dropped his pen and was sitting at full attention as he surveyed the byplay between the two men. Tony was drawing circle after circle on his legal pad, as he covertly watched Gibbs.

"Tony had broken curfew and snuck out, he said to call his girl," Wells was explaining. "But he'd been gone a hell of a time and I was worried that if Archer decided to do a headcount he'd notice that Tony and Walker were both missing and there'd be hell to pay. So, I went over to this place we used, it was a disused warehouse, but there was a way you could sneak in avoiding the CCTV and it gave you some privacy out of the rain and all. I was kinda surprised when I heard them arguing, because as far as I knew, Tony had never gone out of his way to even speak to Brooker."

"They were arguing?" Markham frowned.

"_You think playing at soldiers is going to turn you into Gibbs' golden boy?" Brooker hissed. " A haircut and a set of greens isn't enough to turn a Momma's boy like you into a Marine."_

"_My Mother died when I was ten. And none of my stepmothers were exactly the maternal type. Any investigator good investigator would know that."_

_Wells winced as he heard the sickening sound of a fist hitting flesh, followed by the involuntary exhalation that came with being punched in the gut. Creeping forward a little he saw Brooker standing over DiNozzo, who was straightening up, still cradling his stomach from the blow. As Wells watched, Brooker reached out and grabbed DiNozzo by his chin and forced his head back._

"_You better start showing some respect, to a superior officer Tony-boy."_

"_Fine," Tony pulled his lips back over his teeth in the semblance of a smile. "You show me one and I'll salute."_

_The back hander was swift and vicious, tearing the thin skin around the lips across the sharp, edges of teeth, the force knocking his head back as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth._

"_Gibbs didn't tell you, did he?" Brooker sneered._

"_Gibbs doesn't .. tell me .. a lot of .. things," Tony managed. "You'll have to be .. more specific."_

"Suddenly, there were footsteps and I stepped back a little," Wells continued. "That's when I saw Archer dragging Walker in. Poor kid looked like a drowned rat. As you know sir, it turned out he'd had enough and tried to high tail it home. Archer had caught him attempting to go over the fence."

"You were the one who raised the alarm." Gibbs recalled.

"Yes sir," Wells nodded. "I saw right away things were turning ugly and I went to call for help. I was stopped by your man, Agent Pacci and you people took it from there."

"At his court martial, Captain Archer admitted that he was afraid that the attempted desertion of an Admiral's son would look bad on his record," Markham observed. "So, he'd decided to teach the boy a lesson on the QT. At the time it was assumed that Special Agent DiNozzo's injuries were sustained when he stepped in to protect him."

"Tony took the worst of it," Wells nodded. "But then Archer was only trying to teach the kid a lesson that got out of hand. I swear Brooker looked like he was made enough to kill."

"He almost did." Gibbs replied.

* * *

_Consciousness came back in a sudden rush of awareness, the cold, hard cement under his back, the sharp acrid smell of blood and urine in the air, the mind numbing cold, and the burning pain of the numerous cuts, welts and bruises across his body. Instinctively, he tried to curl in on himself to protect his torso from further abuse, a soft moan wheezing through his windpipe, as his abused limbs refused to co-operate. _

"_Tony, you with me?"_

_Gibbs._

_Tony blinked, looking blindly upright as his lids grated across dry, gritty eyeballs, towards the security of that familiar voice. Feeling his eyes droop as exhaustion threatened to overtaken him._

"_C'mon, Tony, stay with me," _

_Gibbs' face, creased with concern, honed into view above him, as a firm hand patted his cheek. Tony swallowed hard and tried to speak, but his voice refused to co-operate, so instead he pulled his dry, cracked lips into some gruesome semblance of a smile._

"_Damn it, DiNozzo ..."_

_Tony squinted. To his surprise, Gibbs' voice sounded a little rough and his eyes were suspiciously bright, as he shrugged out of his jacket and tucked the thick, lined, cloth over his chilled and battered body. Tony blinked painfully, feeling ridiculously comforted by that simple gesture, as he breathed in the familiar scent._

"_Agent Gibbs?"_

"_Over here."_

_Tony was vaguely aware of other people spilling into the vicinity; he saw a swarm of marines and NCIS agents, before two EMTs blocked his view as they went to work cataloguing his injuries and pumping a syringe of who knew what into his arm. He turned his head to one side, hating the way their efforts to help made him feel as violated and lacking in control as his recent beating._

_The firm squeeze of his hand startled him._

_Looking up, he saw that Gibbs, in his bulletproof vest, was still kneeling beside him on the hard concrete, without the least sign of discomfort from his damaged cartilage. Glancing down, Tony stared at their entwined hands; feeling both grounded and slightly freaked out by the affectionate contact. For the first time he noticed that Gibbs' hands were smeared with blood. His blood. Making a supreme effort, he swallowed over his dry throat and licked his parched lips._

"_I'm .. good, Boss."_

"_You make sure you stay that way. That's an order, DiNozzo. Or you'll have me to answer to."_

_Tony frowned, there was something important. Something he needed to say, that was teasing at the edge of a consciousness, battered by pain, fatigue and the drugs already coursing through a system, already weakened by pain and lack of food, water or sleep. _

"_Boss.." He croaked. "Brooker."_

"_I know, Tony," DiNozzo was pretty sure he hallucinated the hand, which stroked his hair affectionately as he lost his battle with consciousness, even as the voice hardened into self-recrimination. "I know."_

"I've already discounted that Marine as a hostile witness," Brooker attempted to recover his composure. "You can't prove any of this."

"You're right, I can't," Gibbs agreed easily. At the time, he'd only thought that Brooker had been guilty of leaving DiNozzo without backup. "But I know someone who can. I'd like to call Director Tom Morrow."


	15. Chapter 15

When an extremely pissed Leroy Jethro Gibbs ignored his fifteen minute window to go and fetch coffee to follow his Agent into the head, Tony knew it wasn't going to be pretty. Morrow's testimony had gone a long way to nail shut their case against Brooker, but it had left Gibbs steaming.

"You should have told me." He began.

"Gibbs, there was nothing to tell," Tony tried for reasonable. "You know as well as I do that Morrow doesn't take it well when one of his agents hangs another of his people out to dry. Brooker was already on suspension for being a screw up, after what happened in the warehouse there simply wasn't enough good forensics to make the assault charges stick as well."

"Not enough _good _forensics?"

"Ducky commented on the split lip. He picked up on the fact that it was outside of Archer's MO. But there wasn't any DNA or anything for Abby to prove that Brooker was the one responsible."

"Abby knew about this?" Gibbs couldn't believe it. Wasn't this supposed to be _his_ team?

"Boss, I'm telling you, we tried to nail Brooker at the time. We just didn't have a case."

"And when exactly did you find time in your busy schedule to go to Leavenworth, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked sarcastically.

"You remember that time I was supposed to be .." Tony winced at the ferocity of Gibbs' glare. "You don't really care about that, do you Boss?

Gibbs knew he should be proud. Still full of arrogance and convinced his sadistic methods had been justifiable, it wouldn't have been easy to get Archer to co-operate with NCIS. It would have taken some skilled manipulation for DiNozzo to convince the disgraced Captain to sign an affidavit that he was not responsible for the facial injuries. That evidence had gone a long way to discredit Brooker. And he _was _proud. He just didn't like being kept out of the loop.

"And the e-mails, DiNozzo?"

At first the e-mails had been simply annoying, but over the weeks and months, as Tony had failed to report them, Brooker had taken that as a sign of weakness and the messages had become abusive. When Morrow had read out one of the recent missives, Gibbs had been about ready to shoot Brooker on the spot.

"The Director ordered me to log any contact from Brooker but not to take any action until we were in a position to make a case." Tony admitted quietly.

"Last time I looked, you were supposed to be my senior field agent."

The words were a reprimand and Tony flushed slightly as he registered the chastisement. Gibbs held his gaze, determined not to let him off the hook on this one. As his senior field agent he had every confidence in DiNozzo's abilities, but this wasn't a classified operation, or even an undercover assignment, it was Tony's life, and as his Boss and his friend, he was having a hard time dealing with the fact that the younger man apparently hadn't trusted him enough to come to him over this.

"C'mon Gibbs," Tony tried to defend himself ."What do you want from me? Morrow specifically ordered me not to tell you."

"You could have gotten around that," Gibbs dismissed that. "Not like it would be the first time."

Tony shrugged, mentally calculating his predicted life expectantly, if he went with the bald, unvarnished, truth and decided that right now his Boss was so angry, he had very little to lose.

"You know, Gibbs, you tend to get a little crazy, when people around you are whacked. And excuse me for not being more blasé about the whole 'just been tortured' thing, but I needed you there. Not going off half cocked on some career ending crusade."

Gibbs paused as he remembered the bright lights and flashes of frenzied blue as his senior field agent was wheeled into the emergency room. Reluctantly stepping back as the battered body had disappeared beneath a swarm of medical personnel. And the way that DiNozzo had woken up in a cold sweat for weeks afterwards.

"Yeah," His anger melted away. "I can see that."

* * *

_Gibbs carried the pizza carefully, using both hands to keep the box flat. As he walked down the hallway, he rolled his head around, trying to get the cricks out of his neck. He'd spent all day dealing with the fallout from this case and he'd missed DiNozzo's easy manner more than he wanted to admit. When he had almost bitten the head off yet another terrified probie, Ducky had given him a baleful look._

"_For goodness sake Jethro, go and see the boy. You know you won't rest until you do."_

_Truth be told he was looking forward to kicking back and maybe letting DiNozzo talk him into watching the game. When he wasn't going out of his way to be annoying, Tony was pretty good company. He came to a surprised halt outside Tony's door. Expecting to hear Abby. he recognised the voice of Thomas Wells._

"_The scuttlebutt had it right. You look like crap, man."_

"_Yeah well," There was a rustle of sheets and a small intake of breath as Tony shifted slightly in the bed, his voice carefully controlled to hide his discomfort. "Better me than the Admiral's kid."_

"_This whole thing was one big mess if you ask me. All that poor kid wanted was to be an artist. It's a dammed shame that his Daddy was so dead set against it. I just can't figure it. Family tradition or no, that boy sure as hell wasn't cut out to be a Marine."_

"_Some fathers are just like that."_

_The quiet words made the hairs on the back of Gibbs' neck stand up. He knew Tony's father had never wanted his son to go into law enforcement. From what Gibbs knew of the elder DiNozzo's reputation it must have taken one hell of a backbone to stand up to him._

"_Your old man that way?" Wells wanted to know._

"_He rides me harder than anyone I've ever met," Tony reflected. "He expects better of me than anyone I've ever known. Getting a compliment out of him is like getting a drill sergeant to crack a smile. But you mess up and you can bet your pay check he's standing right behind you, ready to slap you across the back of the head."_

_Gibbs felt his chest tighten as he realised DiNozzo wasn't talking about his father, he was talking about him. _

"_Sounds like a real bastard."_

"_Not even close. A real bastard would cut me off without a cent and leave me to rot in the gutter. And when I end up in the Hospital, he wouldn't even bother to call. He wouldn't swing by to visit me every night and stay until I fall asleep. Or bully the nurses into finding me a TV that works, even though he won't admit that was him. I've never seen him so .." Tony hesitated._

_Gibbs shook his head. He wouldn't put it past DiNozzo to have worked out that he knew what it was like to be tortured and was trying to make things go easier with the younger man than they had for him._

_"Tony?" Wells asked._

_"He just always seems to know exactly what I need." Tony finished diplomatically._

"_That's a great Dad."_

"_Yeah," Tony agreed softly. "Anyone would be proud to have a father like him."_

_Gibbs had had to walk away and take a few minutes to regain his composure, before he was able to go into that room and face DiNozzo as if he hadn't just overheard him bear his soul. It was only much later, when he was sanding his boat, that he remembered Tony's sense of smell was acute enough to catch the smell of pizza fumes leaking under the door._

_He'd known he was there.

* * *

_

Something about the look on Steven Brooker's face as he stood up to cross examine Tom Morrow, warned Gibbs that they were not out of the woods yet. The man was way too relaxed as he approached the NCIS Director.

"Director, we've heard a number of allegations in this room," Brooker began. "Special Agent DiNozzo's cross examinations, in particular, have been most entertaining. One might even say theatrical."

"Agent Brooker," Markham was impatient. "If you are going somewhere with this, I suggest you refrain from making personal comments and get to the point."

"My point is, neither Dr Mallard or Miss Scutio have been able to prove that I was at fault. Captain Archer is hardly a creditable witness and Thomas Wells testimony, as well as the original allegation against me, all originated with Special Agent DiNozzo."

"Special Agent DiNozzo, is a highly respected Federal Agent," Morrow countered stiffly. "I'm not sure what you are suggesting."

"You approved Special Agent DiNozzo's recruitment from Baltimore PD, where he was formally working as a Homicide Detective, is that correct?"

"On Special Agent Gibbs' recommendation," Morrow nodded. "He had shared jurisdiction with him during an investigation into the murder of a petty officer, whose younger brother had got mixed up in the drugs trade."

"According to that recommendation," Brooker glanced at a sheet of paper. "Special Agent Gibbs was particularly impressed with Detective DiNozzo's skill as an undercover Agent?"

"Said he was one of the best he had ever worked with."

"High praise indeed." Brooker commented dryly.

Gibbs shifted his foot slightly and pressed down on DiNozzo's instep, before the smug, loping, grin, could spread right across his face. Ever receptive to his Boss' moods, the look Tony shot him was questioning, rather than wounded. Gibbs telegraphed his concern with a glance. If he was right about where Brooker was going with this, things were going to get much worse before they were over.

DiNozzo wrote one word on his pad._ Baltimore?_

Gibbs nodded.

"As I understand it," Brooker continued. "An undercover operation requires an agent to assume another name, a different personality. Often they are required to get close to their targets, to display loyalty and earn their trust. On occasion even to undertake a romantic liaison."

"I think everyone in this room is familiar with the demands of undercover assignments," Markham commented. "And you are trying my patience."

"I'm merely pointing out that Special Agent DiNozzo is an accomplished liar."

Before Tony could react, Gibbs' hand locked around his wrist, hard enough to leave bruises. This time the look Tony shot him was pure annoyance. Gibbs shook his head minutely.

"Do _not_ let him get to you."

"Since when did you become the voice of reason?" Tony hissed back.

"Since we already know where he is going with this."

"I would like to submit into evidence Special Agent DiNozzo's personnel file," Brooker confirmed his suspicions. "According to my investigations, Special Agent DiNozzo subitted falsified information at the time of his recruitment. And I fail to see how this hearing can grant credence to a single word he says when his entire career with NCIS is based on a lie."

* * *

AN – I know it's another cliff hanger (ducks) but the next chapter is just getting polished and will be up in a couple of days, I promise! 


	16. Chapter 16

With lunch over Kate and McGee reluctantly returned to their desks, leaving Abby monitoring the video feed, with strict instructions to call, if there were any developments. As they emerged from the elevator, McGee was the first to notice the man waiting by his desk.

"Can I help you, sir?"

"Not unless you've got about two inches shorter and invested in some really bad suits in the last couple of years," The man looked him up and down. "I'm looking for Anthony DiNozzo."

"Special Agent DiNozzo is indisposed, right now. I'm his partner, Special Agent Caitlyn Todd. Can I help?"

"Indisposed?" The man frowned. "You mean like in the john?"

"We call it the head," McGee blurted, before he could stop himself. At the man's incredulous look he felt obliged to explain. "We're a civil agency, but we use naval terminology. It …er …avoids confusion."

"That's a matter of opinion, son," The man commented. "Is DiNozzo taking a leak or not?"

"No, sir," McGee swallowed. "He's in conference with the Director and I'm afraid we're not at liberty to contact him at this time .. sir."

"Man, DiNozzo must eat you alive," The man muttered, looking around briefly. "This his desk?" Settling himself into Tony's chair he picked up the half empty Baltimore PD mug and sniffed at the stone cold tea, before breaking into a grin. "Two years and Gibbs still doesn't have him drinking coffee. Your Boss owes me $20 bucks."

"You know Gibbs?" McGee blinked.

"I'm sorry," Kate pasted on her most professional smile. "I'm afraid I didn't catch your name?"

"Maybe, because I didn't give it, Agent Todd."

All three turned as the elevator doors sounded and Donald Mallard hurried out, wearing a worried expression, with Abby trailing at his heels looking openly distraught. To Kate and McGee's surprise the man's face broke into a welcoming grin.

"Dr Mallard, its good to see you again."

"Ducky, please." Mallard insisted, as he reached out to shake the offered hand. "Anthony told me you were coming and not a moment too soon .."

"Bob," The man insisted. He frowned as Abby shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. "Things not going so well, huh?"

"Brooker pulled Tony's jacket," Abby blurted. "He's telling everyone that Tony's evidence can't be trusted. He's saying that he falsified information when Gibbs recruited him to NCIS. He's calling him a liar. And now the Director's all mad, Tony and Gibbs are gonna get fired and that bad _bad _man is going to walk free," Abby blinked, as if surprised at her own vehemence and blushed slightly as she realised everyone was staring at her. "Sorry."

"Don't be, my dear," Ducky patted her arm. "Gibbs would be proud."

"Wish half my Detectives could summarise as well as that." Bob grinned.

"Your Detectives?" Kate asked.

"Of course," Ducky looked surprised. "Didn't you know, my dear? This is Bob Hawkins. Tony's old Captain at Baltimore PD

"I'm guessing by the looks on your faces that DiNozzo's never told you how he came to be working here at NCIS." Hawkins observed.

"He said, he smiled." Kate offered weakly.

"There was a whole lot more to it than that."

* * *

_Gibbs weaved his way through the busy ER, ignoring the small family group huddled in the private waiting room, as he headed unerringly towards the young, dark haired, detective leaning against the wall. As he approached, Gibbs took in the bright white plaster of Paris, which covered most of DiNozzo's left arm, the smears of blood and filth on his ripped and torn clothing, and the deep lines of exhaustion etched on his face. His eyes were closed, but he looked anything but restful. _

"_Thought NCIS had all its T's crossed and its I's dotted." DiNozzo spoke without opening his eyes. "Shouldn't you be on a flight back to Washington?"_

"_And I thought the EMTs told you to go home and get some rest."_

"_I'm meditating." DiNozzo didn't open his eyes._

_This close up, the kid looked like he'd aged ten years in the last two hours. He bit back the urge to tell him he looked like crap. Seeing as the other guy was currently undergoing surgery for multiple trauma he figured DiNozzo probably felt he was looking pretty dammed good._

"_How is Detective Dyer?"_

"_Critical," DiNozzo answered bleakly. Opening bloodshot eyes, he turned his head. "Why are you here, Gibbs?"_

"_How did you know it was me?"_

_He was genuinely curious. He prided himself on his ability to sneak up on people and amidst the various ambient noises of the busy Hospital, there was no way DiNozzo could have heard him coming. It had to have been something else._

"_You want to sneak up on me, don't do it bearing coffee." DiNozzo nodded at the cups._

"_I'll try to remember that," Gibbs nodded as he passed over one of the cups. "You could at least pretend."_

"_I'll try to remember that." DiNozzo acknowledged. _

_He took a large gulp of the scalding coffee, without flinching, or bothering to launch into his usual crusade about sugar and hazelnut creamer. Given the kid's stubborn streak, Gibbs knew better than to thuik he had given up the battle, he was just too tried to care. Gibbs felt an odd satisfaction as a hint of pleased surprise ghosted across DiNozzo's weary features._

"_You put sugar in it."_

"_If you're planning on staying here all night, you should eat something too."_

"_Hospital food?" Tony shook his head. "Its enough to make well people sick. I'll grab a pizza or something .. later. You never answered my question."_

"_Well let's see Detective DiNozzo," Gibbs was sarcastic. "You spent the last week undercover with drug dealers and murders. For the last two days you've barely ate or slept. A couple of hours ago you were bleeding out all over the sidewalk. Why the hell do you think I'm here?"_

"_You don't have to worry about me," Tony closed his eyes again. "I'm fine."_

"_Yeah? Because you look like you're going to pass out."_

"_I am not going to pass out. DiNozzos do not pass out." Tony slurred slightly._

_Gibbs was about to point out that he'd already lost consciousness once today, when he saw DiNozzo's immediate Boss, Lieutenant Sands, shoving his way towards them, and by the dark, bitter scowl on his face Gibbs' gut told him he wasn't here to see how his men were doing.

* * *

_

Morrow had managed to contain his fury until he had both of his agents safely in his office. En route, it didn't escape his notice that there were wasn't as much as a sidelong glance, or muttered aside, between them as they double-timed it up the stairs. Staring out over the harbour, he could only come to one conclusion, turning to face them he directed his comment to the supervisory agent.

"You knew, didn't you?"

"Yes sir." Gibbs nodded.

"And at no point in the last two years, did it ever occur to you that I might need to know about this? And so help me, Special Agent Gibbs, if you say you hoped I never needed to find out, I swear I will fire your ass, faster than you can say, 'pink slip'"

"I was acting under the orders of a superior officer, sir."

"It may have escaped your notice, Special Agent Gibbs, but this is my agency. There is no officer more superior than me."

"Yes sir," Gibbs agreed. "However, at the time I was conducting a joint investigation with Baltimore PD. As such, I was technically also subject to their chain of command."

"That's a pretty fine technically, Jethro. And since when did you voluntarily subject yourself to the jurisdiction of another agency?"

"Since it was expedient, .. sir." Gibbs smiled thinly.

Morrow huffed his displeasure as he turned his attention to Anthony DiNozzo, who continued to stare straight ahead, bracing himself to face the Director's wrath. "Special Agent DiNozzo, you have ten seconds to tell me why I shouldn't have you clearing out your desk right now, not to mention pressing charges for falsifying personal information on a government form."

"I can assure the Director that it was never my intention to take any action, which under any circumstances, might reflect poorly on NCIS, its Director, or my fellow agents, sir. I am heartily sorry that my actions appear to have done so and I hereby offer my resignation, sir." Tony snapped out.

"The hell you do. If you have done anything to bring this Agency into disrepute, then I will dammed well fire your ass," Morrow all but yelled. He didn't miss the way DiNozzo flinched and Gibbs bristled. Holding up a hand to forestall Gibbs' inevitable interruption he softened his tone. "However, if you can convince me that there was a justifiable explanation for your actions, then I will do everything in y power to see this doesn't permanently disadvantage your career prospects."

"Thank you, sir." DiNozzo relaxed fractionally.

"Alright," Morrow settled himself behind his desk. "Start talking."

"As the Director knows, I first met Special Agent Gibbs when I was working Petty Officer Walters murder for Baltimore Homicide. Turned out Walter's kid brother had got in way over his head with some local drugs lords. The kid had been stupid but he was hardly LL Cool J in In Too Deep. We mounted an undercover operation to try and catch the real movers and shakers, six days in the whole thing was blown out of the water."

"I remember," Morrow nodded. "Someone or something had tippped the targets off. There was a review board. You admitted liability. Your career at Baltimore was basically over. It took some pretty strong arguments from Special Agent Gibbs here to convince me that you were still worth taking a chance on. Frankly, I'm beginning to think that might have been a mistake."

"With respect, sir," Morrow knew Gibbs couldn't keep out of it for long. "It didn't happen like that."

"Sir," The desk intercom buzzed. "I know you said no calls. But Captain Hawkins of Baltimore PD wants to speak with you urgently."

"No calls, means no calls," Morrow retorted. "Tell him I'll call him back in five minutes."

"I would Director, but you don't quite understand. He's right here. He wants to speak to you in person.".


	17. Chapter 17

AN - I've had this chapter on my hard drive for a while but have been having serious issues with uploading to and where have all the e-mail alerts gone? I know its not just me. If anyone knows how to fix that I'd love to hear.

* * *

Hawkins didn't waste any words as he strode into Morrow's office. Ignoring his audience, he walked up to DiNozzo and stopped just a few inches short of his former homicide detective.

"Didn't I tell you, this thing would come back and bite you in the ass?"

"Actually sir, you said it was a dammed fine idea." DiNozzo offered diffidently.

"See you haven't cured him of that smart mouth, Special Agent Gibbs," Hawkins grinned. "And you owe me twenty bucks by the way."

"Duly noted, sir," Gibbs didn't even glance at DiNozzo. "Who knew he would be so stubborn?"

"Tom Morrow, Director, NCIS," Morrow extended his hand. "Do you think we could get back to the matter in hand, gentlemen?"

"My apologies, Director," Hawkins shook his hand. "Captain Bob Hawkins, Baltimore PD, I understand our boy here has got himself into a spot of bother."

You could say that." Morrow observed dryly.

"Frankly, I'd be overjoyed if you did fire his ass," Hawkins shrugged. "DiNozzo was one of the best young Homicide Detectives I've ever had. I'd hire him back in a hot second if I thought he'd come."

"And yet you headed a disciplinary board, which found him guilty of serious professional misconduct." Morrow raised a brow.

"Let me say right off," Hawkins leant back against the table, surveying the other three men with a serious expression. "I only agreed to this because Gibbs gave me his word DiNozzo would have a shot at a career here at NCIS. Don't get me wrong, Tony's Lieutenant in Homicide was a good, solid, cop, but he had no idea how to push a natural like our boy, to the next level. The two of them had begun to butt heads on a fairly regular basis, and it wasn't getting the kid anywhere but a stack of reprimands on his file. Firing Sands wasn't an option, but frankly, DiNozzo deserved better."

"What exactly was it you agreed to?" Morrow enquired.

"Gibbs?" Hawkins invited.

"Lieutenant Sands came to the Hospital. Worse dammed CO I ever met. DiNozzo looked like he was about to pass out on the spot and his partner was fighting for his life on the operating table. He told us that there was going to be an enquiry into how the operation got so screwed. Didn't even stick around to see if Dyer made it through the surgery."

"Apparently, somebody or something had tipped off the targets and by the time the operation exploded in our faces we were lucky to come out of it with any result at all," Hawkins continued."If it hadn't been for DiNozzo convincing Walter's sister to come forward, the whole dammed thing would have been for nothing."

"Dyer didn't make it, sir," Gibbs said solemnly. "He died on the operating table."

"He was a good man," Hawkins sounded almost defensive. "He'd been a Homicide detective for the past twelve years. Outstanding record. Highly decorated. He'd devoted his life to serving the city of Baltimore."

"Am I missing something here?" Morrow looked from one to the other.

The two men looked gravely at each other but, for the first time, it was DiNozzo who answered.

"His wife was six months pregnant."

* * *

"_Gibbs, this is my choice. My decision. I don't remember asking your permission. You're not my Boss."_

_The steel in DiNozzo's voice didn't entirely surprise Gibbs. He'd already learnt that was there was far more to the younger man than met the eye. When the kid was undercover Gibbs had been tempted to roll up his sleeves and check him for tracks. No one born with a silver spoon in his mouth, should have been able to do bitter and angry that well. _

"_And I won't be if you insist on doing this."_

_Tony closed his eyes against the unexpected compassion in that voice. His head hurt, his arm throbbed like hell, the pain medication they had given him was making his empty stomach feel nauseous. Mike was dead and he was never coming back. Laurel was left to raise two boys and an unborn daughter who would never know her Daddy._

"_Mike was a good man. A great cop. Laurel's pregnancy .. wasn't going well .. a couple of days ago she had an overnight stay in Hospital." _

"_You think Dyer made a call that was overheard by the targets." Gibbs surmised._

"_I know he had an unauthorised cell," DiNozzo sighed. "He swore to me it was only for emergencies."_

"_Tony," Gibbs spoke softly, noting how the kid's eyes widened slightly at the use of his given name. The dark circles under his eyes standing out in stark relief in his pale face. "This is professional suicide. You don't owe him this." _

"_He's dead Gibbs. Its not like he can defend himself. If it comes out that he was responsible for screwing up the operation, that's all anyone will ever remember about him. He doesn't deserve that."_

"_And neither do you."_

_Tony shrugged softly. "So, I'm a screw up. Its not like it would be the first time. I can find another job."_

"_Yeah," Gibbs agreed sarcastically. "As building security."_

"_What do you want from me?" Tony stepped up into his personal space, his eyes flashing. Gibbs was mildly surprised. Few people had the guts to do that to him."So, maybe Mike screwed up, but only because he was trying to look out for his wife and unborn daughter. And he already paid for that mistake .. with his life."_

"_I get that," Gibbs was frustrated. "But he was your partner. Your friend. He wouldn't want this for you."_

"_Alright," Tony smiled and Gibbs saw something dark and dangerous in the younger man that hinted at depths Gibbs had only begun to imagine in the talented homicide detective. "Tell you what, I'll make you a deal."_

_"Oh?" Gibbs challenged, giving no ground._

_"I'll walk away from this, let things take their course, if you can look me in the eye and tell me one thing."_

"_What?"_

"_That if Dyer was your partner, you'd walk too."_

_Gibbs looked away. He wasn't used to being read so well. Most people saw the ornery ex-gunny and assumed that the 'second B for bastard' was al there was. It took more time than he allowed most people and more patience than his co-workers generally possessed to realised that under that gruff exterior was a man of infinite compassion and honour._

"_Alright." He conceded._

_The younger man took no obvious pleasure in having read the ex-Marine so accurately and that alone bumped him up a few more notches in Gibbs' estimation. A good interrogator kept his game face on, even if he was doing victory dances in hs head. DiNozzo just nodded silently and turned towards the door, only to be stopped by a firm grip on his arm._

"_But we do this my way." Gibbs qualified.

* * *

_

Tony pressed his lips together as he fell into step beside Gibbs, he didn't speak as they left the Director's office, nor as they passed his Assistant. As they exited onto the walkway and made their way down stairs, he remained silent. It was only as they were passing the elevator and Gibbs seized him by the collar and pulled him inside that he emitted an undignified yelp.

"What was that for?"

Before he answered, Gibbs reached over and flipped the switch to bring the elevator to a shuddering halt.

"You're not going to get fired."

"Gibbs, no matter how good a game Hawkins talks in there, it doesn't change the fact that I lied to a review board. Even if Morrow sympathises with what I did, he can't be seen to condone it. And then there's the fact that Brooker's still going to have a field day with this. If he goes to the media, Morrow's hands are tied."

"DiNozzo, do you remember what happened to Special Agent Blackadder?"

"You kicked her back to the FBI."

"She jeopardised a very sensitive sting with a rookie mistake. If my Agents can't handle themselves out in the field, I have no use for them," Gibbs agreed. "Special Agent Davies?"

"You had him transferred to legal because he was a liability in interrogation."

"Special Agent Collins? Who came highly recommended from JAG?"

"Ah," Tony winced slightly at the memory. "I guess you'd call that a clash of personalities, Boss."

"You seeing a pattern here, DiNozzo?"

Tony allowed himself a small glow of smugness. It hadn't escaped his notice that in the last two years, he was the only Agent to go the distance with Gibbs. All the others had been fired, transferred, or in a few cases, had marched up to the Director's office and demanded to be sent as far away as possible. Still, in the circumstances, he didn't think Morrow would keep him around just because he knew how to play nice with Gibbs.

"You ever think he might fire you too?"

He took no small satisfaction, in his Boss's quick double take at that, before Gibbs shook his head. Tony guessed having the best closure rate in the Agency could do that for you. Maybe, if he had built up that kind of record he wouldn't be feeling so screwed here.

"You're a good Agent," Gibbs spoke quietly, as he seemed to read his thoughts. "If you weren't I'd have fired your ass myself long before now. Morrow knows that."

Tony almost laughed. Gibbs' version of a compliment was pretty backhanded. But he knew the ex-gunny wouldn't have said he was good if he didn't mean it and from Gibbs that was pretty high praise.

"Besides," Gibbs looked straight ahead. "There is another reason, Morrow won't fire you."

"There is?"

The slap to the back of his head was unexpected and definitely fell into the 'get a clue' category. Resisting the urge to rub the back of his head, Tony merely waited for his Boss to enlighten him. A small smile hovered around Gibbs mouth as he obliged.

"Brooker's an idiot. Nothing you said on your application to NCIS was untrue. You did face a review board. You were found guilty of serious professional misconduct. The fact that you didn't actually do it, doesn't matter."

"Oh." Tony realised.

"Morrow will talk to Markham, the whole thing will be ruled as inadmissible and we're back to square one."

"That good, huh?" Tony mimicked, looking aghast at Gibbs blank look. "C'mon Boss. Harrison Ford. Return of the Jedi. Iconical eighties movie. Even you have to have seen that."

"Saw it," Gibbs agreed, as he set the elevator in motion again, sending it back down to the bullpen. "Just didn't like it."


	18. Chapter 18

"Boss, I'm telling you this is a bad idea," Tony hissed as they made their way out of the elevator and through the bullpen to reach the conference room. "A very bad idea."

"You don't think I know what I'm doing, DiNozzo?"

Somehow Gibbs managed to make it sound like a threat as well as a question. They both knew how this worked. It was part of Tony's job as senior field agent to point out the pitfalls in Gibbs' strategy. If he was just playing devil's advocate, then this was his cue to back down. If he didn't that meant he was serious.

He didn't.

"Oh yeah. You know what you're doing. But do you have any idea what Broker is doing? Markham may have ruled the whole Baltimore thing inadmissible, but Brooker's not going to take that lying down. He's going to come out all guns blazing."

"Yeah, well. The Marines taught me something about superior fire power."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were just going to take out your AK47 and shoot him." Tony mocked.

"Not in front of witnesses."

Gibbs voice was grim in its resolution. After everything Brooker had done to Tony he was going to make sure he paid one way or another. And eating three square meals a day, while sitting on his ass in Leavenworth, sure as hell wasn't it. The iron hard grip on his arm surprised him. Coming to an abrupt halt, he looked down pointedly at the hand, before raising his eyes to glare at DiNozzo. The younger man's eyes were dark with anger and a fierce determination.

"Gibbs."

He didn't need to say the words for them both to understand the message._ I won't let you kill him. I don't want you to risk for career for my sake. Brooker's not worth it. _But it was the underlying tone that fuelled Gibbs anger and frustration. _I'm not worth it_.

"DiNozzo."

Gibbs couldn't say the words. But he needed Tony to hear him._ I should have protected you. I'm not going to make that mistake again. This scumbag doesn't deserve to live. He hurt you._

"Killing Brooker won't change what my father did to me." Tony spoke quietly.

Gibbs clenched his jaw to contain the well of emotion that threatened to overwhelm him. He could count on one hand the people he'd known in his life who could read him that well and two of them were dead. His mother would have liked Tony, he could see her feeding him up with homemade pie and blushing at his charming manners and sincere gratitude.

"Anyone ever make you a pie, DiNozzo?"

True to form his senior field agent didn't even blink at the apparent non-sequitor.

"Abby made me a Pumpkin pie when I was on call last Thanksgiving."

Gibbs remembered. He had been called away that week on a matter of national security and left Tony in charge. It had been his job to decide who covered the holiday. It was typical of the younger man that he had chosen himself and let the others go home to their families.

"What about when you were a kid?" Gibbs insisted.

"Our cook, Rosa used to make them for Christmas and stuff. But those were for everyone. And I wasn't allowed to have any if I didn't clear my plate and there was always squash, which I hated," Noting the ex-gunny's expression turn flat at the less than stellar description of his childhood, Tony pressed on. "Gibbs, none of that matters anymore."

Gibbs couldn't understand it. How could it not matter that he had been brought up as some kind of trophy child, dressed in ridiculous clothes and wheeled out to be petted at parties, burdened with expectations and punished severely for failing to live up to those demanding edicts, but denied the love and attention a child had a right to expect?

"Why the hell not?"

Tony met his gaze. Letting all of his trust, gratitude and affection for this man, who somehow always seemed to know exactly what he needed, show in is eyes.

"Because I like Pizza better."

* * *

Despite his trust and faith in Gibbs, Tony couldn't help but feel a little nervous as he settled into the witness chair. Looking at Brooker's lips curl into a satisfied smile, before he rose to his feet, he was left wondering if this wasn't exactly what the IA investigator had been waiting for.

"Special Agent DiNozzo, according to the NCIS handbook, what is the proper course of action towards a field agent who commits a breach of discipline?"

Inwardly, Tony sighed as he saw where this was going, although he kept his face carefully expressionless.

"A note in their file."

"And since you have been working at NCIS how many of these official reprimands have you received from your team leader?"

"None." Tony said honestly. Gibbs' methods of showing disapproval were simple but effective. A word or a glance was often all it took to let you know you'd messed up. Sloppiness was rewarded by grunt work, the dirtier the better. Poor attitude was pretty high on his totem pole of unacceptable behaviour and deservedly resulted in a fairly acerbic dressing down. If an error was serious enough for Gibbs to write it up in your file, it was generally just before he had you transferred.

"Really?" Brooker feigned surprise. "You don't strike me as such a stickler for protocol. In fact, didn't you recently march into the office of a beltway lawyer and put him in cuffs, just because he refused to leave his paying client?"

"He's lucky I didn't read him his rights. The man was obstructing a murder investigation. Once he realised this he co-operated willingly." Tony defended his actions.

"Nonetheless," Markham looked up. "I am a little curious, son. According to you file you received 18 official reprimands in one month alone, at Baltimore PD, two of them in one day. How exactly does Special Agent Gibbs keep you in line?"

"Gibbs treats his people as individuals, sir. He brings Abby Caff Pows and listens to Ducky's stories. He's able to employ Kate's profiling skills, while making allowances for her lack of experience at crime scenes. And McGee. Gibbs knows better than to come down too hard on him while he's still learning."

"That's all very interesting, Agent DiNozzo, but none of that is about you." A smirk hovered around Brooker's lips, acknowledging the clever attempt at deflection. "Which doesn't answer the question."

"You were TAD under Gibbs," Tony taunted. "You should know better than any of us how he deals with screw ups."

"Agent DiNozzo," Markham reprimanded. "Just answer the question."

Tony looked at the smug smile on Brooker's face and then over at the calm acceptance in his Boss's expression and knew exactly what he had to do.

"Special Agent Gibbs leads by example, sir. I follow his orders because I know he'd never ask me to do anything he wouldn't do himself. I obey his instructions, because I respect his judgment and his track record speaks for itself. I admire him more than anyone I've ever met," Tony took a deep breath, now for the difficult part. Locking his gaze with Gibbs, he continued. "But that doesn't even come close to describing, how much he's taught me, or the all the ways he's encouraged and supported me to be a better Agent, a better person even. Or how, when I'm in trouble he's always the first person I call. He's been a better father to me than mine ever was and I would rather die than be a disappointment to him."

"I see," Markham observed in the silence that followed, as he made a note on his pad. "Very eloquently put. Thank you Agent DiNozzo."

Tony barely heard him; his eyes were locked with Gibbs, desperately hoping that he hadn't said too much. Sure, Gibbs had always acted towards him, like Tony thought a father should act, but it wasn't like he had a whole lot of experience to draw on. And he knew what Gibbs had said in Abby's lab, but that was just between them, and now Tony was telling the whole world like it was no big deal.

And it was.

* * *

"What?" Up in the bullpen, Kate blinked at the video feed from Abby on her monitor, as if she couldn't believe her eyes. "No, they planned this, right? This is some kind of ruse against Brooker."

"I don't think so," McGee observed. "Look at Tony's face. He looks kinda like he does when he's expecting Gibbs to head slap him."

"Look, I know Tony admires Gibbs. All right, he worships the ground he walks on. But it's purely a professional respect. Gibbs is his Boss, he's not his father."

"Even though Tony stayed at his house all those weeks his boiler was out? Or that Gibbs leant him his Mercedes SL55 convertible until Tony could get a new car? And Tony is the only one besides Abby and Ducky who can tease Gibbs and live to tell about it."

"I can tease Gibbs." Kate protested.

"Not like Tony."

They both looked up guiltily as a shadow fell across Kate's desk, relaxing in relief as they recognised Ducky, who was stripping off his coat and hat, as he returned from working a scene with another team.

"I was looking for Agent Goodwin. I take it by the looks on your faces, that I've missed something rather important."

"Tony just told everyone that he'd rather die than be a disappointment to Gibbs." McGee spoke up.

"He did?" Ducky looked pleased.

"Ducky, you know Gibbs better than anyone," Kate cut in. "Just how close is he with Tony?"

"I'm afraid the answer to that question is rather dependent on young Anthony's mood and circumstance," Ducky sighed. "Gibbs, always does his best to give him what he needs, but Tony can be remarkably stubborn about such things."

"And what exactly does he need?"

"My dear, I would have thought that was painfully obvious to a profiler of your calibre," Ducky arched a brow. "Anthony is a young man, desperately in need of a father's love and approval."

"So, he picks, Gibbs?" Personally, McGee found the prospect of Gibbs as his father slightly terrifying.

"Tony is actually quite a lot like Gibbs was a younger man. I remember one time when we .."

"Duck," Kate interrupted. "You can't honestly see Gibbs and Tony as father and son. Look at their relationship. Its nothing like the way he treats Abby."

"My dear, Jethro can't be as demonstrative with Anthony as he is with Abigail because Tony would never allow it. I fear the poor boy didn't get much physical affection growing up and he simply doesn't know how to handle it."

"Abby hugs Tony all the time." Kate objected.

"Abigail is rather persistent about such things," Ducky allowed. "And, of course, Tony's always been more comfortable receiving affection from women. I have to go, Agent Goodwin will need my report. Let me know if there are any further developments."

"Kate?" McGee frowned, noticing that she had gone rather pale. "Are you alright?"

"I never realised," Kate, tears glistening in her eyes. "All this time I was thinking that Gibbs was just being a bastard. It never occurred to me that Tony was the one keeping him at arms length."

"He always seems pretty keen to win Gibbs' approval." McGee offered.

"Exactly," Kate bit her lip.

She was terribly afraid that she recognised the signs. And if she was right, and Tony had been abused as a child, he was going to need a lot of professional support to see him through this. Cheered at finding something useful she could do, she began checking through her contacts for a list of counsellors.


	19. Chapter 19

In the conference room Tony waited for Gibbs to show some sort of reaction to his revelations. His eyes widened in surprise as he recognised in the slight quirk of Gibbs lips the same, slightly smug, self-satisfied expression his Boss wore every time Tony figured out some clue or piece of evidence that the ex-marine had known all along.

"_Bastard._" He signed fondly.

"_You know it_." Gibbs returned.

"Special Agent DiNozzo, your defence of Special Agent Gibbs, is really quite touching," Brooker somehow made that sound like it was a bad thing. "But you can't serious expect us to believe that you have a paternal relationship with him, when the two of you never spend any time together outside of the workplace?"

"You mean, apart from when we practise at the range, dinner at least once a week, the times we go sailing or those six weeks when I was living at his place?" Tony challenged.

Brooker's expression tightened and his jaw clenched so hard Tony thought he might actually crack a tooth. Turning on his heel he strode towards his briefcase and extracted a file, flipping it open, he glanced down at a page.

"You claim that Special Agent Gibbs has never assaulted you before?"

Tony's eyes narrowed.

"He never assaulted me this time either dropkick. That was an accident."

"Really?" Brooker looked up. "According to Special Agent Williams, when Special Agent Gibbs moved to offer assistance, you flinched back from him and told him, and I quote "Don't touch me, get your hands off me." Isn't that reaction a little extreme, … unless of course you were expecting Gibbs to hit you again?"

Tony bit the inside of his cheek. The flashback to the sudden unexpected pain, the copper taste of blood trickling into his mouth, his father's, twisted angry, face looming over him, had been so vivid and unexpected that he hadn't had time to put any of his usual defences in place. He'd screwed up royally. He was supposed to be a trained Federal Agent. If this had been an undercover operation, his mistake could have cost a life.

Gibbs life.

And if he couldn't make this right, it still could. Being dismissed from the Agency in disgrace for conduct unbecoming or whatever NCIS chose to call it would destroy Gibbs. He wouldn't let that happen. Not when he had any way to prevent it.

"I wasn't expecting _Gibbs_ to hit me again," Tony spoke quietly. "I was .."

"_DiNozzo._"

Markham frowned as he noticed the way Special Agent Gibbs had suddenly straightened in his chair, his eyes narrowing and his face expressing concern as he locked eyes on the younger man. Everything in his body language threatened dire reprisals if DiNozzo even dared think about expanding on that statement. Glancing across at the senior field agent he noticed that he looked unnaturally pale, his normally expression features stiff and reserved.

"Special Agent DiNozzo, do you need a moment?"

"No, I can do this, sir."

DiNozzo might have been speaking to him, but his eyes were locked on Gibbs, his own expression telegraphing his determination to see this through. Gibbs eyes darkened, but DiNozzo's stance didn't waver. Markham's eyes narrowed, he'd been in this business long enough to know what it looked like when the defendant was trying to intimidate the witness into withholding evidence. Whatever, was going on here, it wasn't that.

"Tony, _don't_."

Tony resisted the urge to close his eyes. It was a tone Gibbs almost never used. That time he was bleeding out in the alley. When he had wanted to follow that suicidal young Marine over the bridge into the freezing waters below. He swallowed hard as he met that intense blue gaze. He wasn't about to back down now. Not with his Boss's career on the line. If going public about being abused was the only way to get Gibbs off the hook, it that was a price worth paying, ten times over. He opened his mouth to continue.

Then Gibbs fingers flicked slightly and Tony stilled.

"Trust me.

He did trust Gibbs. He trusted him to give him a kick up the ass when he needed it. He trusted him to have his six in the field. He trusted him to know when he was being serious. On a good day he even trusted him to understand where he was coming from. He just wasn't sure if he trusted him not to fall on his sword in some dammed heroic gesture.

"_Depends. Are you wearing a vest?"_

Gibbs lips quirked as he recognised the reference. DiNozzo wasn't obvious mother hen material, but the younger man didn't hesitate to tear him off a strip or two when he thought he was needlessly risking his life. He supposed it was only natural that he would feel the same way about his career. He wasn't about to let the Marine do anything that would incriminate himself.

"_Yep."_

It was the smug satisfaction in his eyes that convinced Tony. Whatever Gibbs had come up with, it was solid and neither of them were going to have to put themselves on the line. Curious now, he leant back a little in his seat and raised a questioning brow.

"What?" Brooker demanded, looking from one to another.

"That's what I'd like to know." Markham made his tone mildly disapproving.

"Sir, its clear that Special Agent DiNozzo's reaction that night in the gym was a significant factor in IA's decision to pursue this investigation." It was Gibbs who responded.

"You have to admit. It does seem to suggest a previous, related, trauma." Markham pointed out.

"Inflicted by you." Brooker insisted.

In response, Gibbs merely rose to his feet and extracted a single page document, which he passed to Markham, watching as the IA investigator's forehead creased into a frown.

"According to Special Agent DiNozzo's file," Gibbs observed. "There was only one previous occasion when his nose was broken and that was when he was undercover as a Marine reservist. Given the life threatening nature of other injuries sustained at the time, I'm sure that Dr Mallard would testify that was a previous, related, trauma, sir. And according to Thomas Wells statement and Captain Walker's affidavit that broken nose was inflicted by Special Agent Steven Brooker."

"Now wait a minute." Brooker rose to his feet in protest.

"Sit down," Markham snapped. "Special Agent Brooker, in view of the volume of evidence presented against you to this hearing, you are hereby suspended with immediate effect, pending a full investigation into your conduct and this apparent vendetta against Special Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo."

Gibbs watched Tony as an agent was called to escort Brooker from the building. DiNozzo tracked Brooker's movements with dark, serious eyes, staring at the door, long after the IA officer had disappeared through it. Inwardly, Gibbs frowned. He knew Tony as tenacious about exacting justice as he was and he was extremely loyal to his friends. This wasn't over yet.

"I'm afraid this isn't over yet," Markham unconsciously echoed his thoughts as he heaved himself to his feet. "You'll both be called to give evidence at Brooker's hearing."

"Yes sir." Gibbs' tone gave nothing away.

"Looking forward to it." Tony smiled thinly.

"As for you, Special Agent Gibbs, on behalf of internal affairs, I can only apologise for the inconvenience. Your management style may be a little unorthodox, but it gets results and its obvious your people would follow you to hell and back. Needless, to say, I won't be proceeding with your case."

"Thank you, sir."

"Thank Agent DiNozzo, He was the one that pulled your ass out of the fire."

Gibbs noticed DiNozzo had the good sense to wince. Normally, Tony lapped up praise, from any quarter, but he'd come damn close to defying a direct order just now and he knew better than to think his Boss would just let that slide. As he left the room, he didn't need to look to know that DiNozzo had fallen into step beside him. They made their way along the corridor and into the elevator in silence. As they stood side by side he could feel DiNozzo sneaking little sideways glances at him, before he finally risked a comment.

"Nice save there, Boss."

"You think, DiNozzo?" Gibbs turned on him. "Two seconds before I started to speak, I had no idea what I was going to say. That's how close we came to being the lead story on CNN."

He could just imagine the media circus if Tony's past abuse leaked out. The DiNozzo's were an old money east coast family; the scandal this would cause would go far beyond the gossip columns or the scandal sheets. Tony's face would have been in every newspaper in the land and his undercover career would have been over. Not to mention the legal and emotional fallout that would have buried the younger man.

"I would have done it."

"Yeah, well, I know that, DiNozzo. That's why I'm so pissed."

"You know what, Gibbs?" Tony shot back. "Live with it."

Gibbs blinked, before turning to look at the younger man as if he had lose his senses. Stepping right up into DiNozzo's personal space, he said in a dangerously quiet voice.

"_Live with it_?"

"You heard me," Tony's voice was steady and his gaze resolute, as he squared up to his Boss. "You're not the only one who understands the meaning of 'semper fi.' The last time I looked we were partners, which, in my book, says we watch each other's backs. You don't get to have the monopoly, on doing the right thing. And don't even try to tell me that the great almighty Gibbs, doesn't need anyone else's help, because you were the one who taught me that, in this business, that kind of thinking is a short route to eating your own gun."

There was a few moments of silence.

"You done?"

"Yeah," Tony considered. "I'm done."

"Good."

Gibbs turned back to face front, keeping his face impassive as he sensed DiNozzo becoming increasingly restless. As the car continued to move silently downwards he simply waited.

"The great, almighty, Gibbs, part was a bit much, wasn't it?" Tony suggested.

Gibbs let his mouth quirk in amusement, truth be told he was proud that DiNozzo wasn't intimidated by him when it counted and touched that the younger man would have been prepared to sacrifice think it was worth sacrificing his pride, his personal privacy and his professional reputation just to save his ass. Loyalty and courage of that calibre deserved some reward.

"I could get used to it." He shrugged.

* * *

AN - Almost there, just a few loose ends to tie up before this one is done! 


	20. Chapter 20

"Um," McGee shifted nervously as they waited for the elevator to arrive. "Maybe, we shouldn't make too big a deal out of this?"

"What are you talking about Timmy?" Abby practically bounced. "We won. Gibbs can keep his job, that bad, evil twister, sorry excuse for an NCIS Agent is going down and Tony gets to be the hero of the hour."

"I don't know. Didn't you see Gibbs' face? He didn't exactly look happy about it."

"You know Bossman. He's smiling on the inside."

The ding of the elevator doors opening ended the argument. McGee's eyes widened in surprise and Abby beamed at the sight of Gibbs and Tony laughing as they regarded each other with a mixture of amusement and affection. After a round of congratulatory hugs and kisses from Abby and slightly embarrassed handshakes from McGee, Gibbs realised they were attracting attention.

"Alright, people, we still have work to do."

The soft, goofy, smile, on Tony's face endured as they split to go their separate ways, Abby to her lab, Gibbs to see the Director, and Tony and McGee to their respective desks. It lasted as he looked through his mail and as he checked his e-mails. Then he started on his phone messages. Fifteen minutes later when Gibbs came back down the stairs, he was no-where to be seen.

"McGee, where's DiNozzo at?"

"Um," McGee popped up from behind his monitor, blinking in surprise at the empty desk. "He was right there."

"Well, he's not there now."

"Maybe, he went to the head?" McGee hazarded. "Do you want me to check?"

It was on the tip of Gibbs tongue to say yes. But then he recalled how pale and shocky DiNozzo had looked earlier. Gibbs knew from experience that a case of the shakes was never a fun ride. If Tony were coming down off an adrenaline high he wouldn't appreciate having McGee as an audience.

"I'll do it," He started to walk away, before noticing the second empty desk. "You find out where Kate is."

The head was deserted, as was the stairwell and autopsy. Tony wasn't in Abby's lab or in the break room. Deciding to check with security in case DiNozzo had left the building Gibbs was making his way back along the corridor, when he heard DiNozzo and Todd arguing in furious whispers around the corner. They both fell abruptly silent as he appeared, but the dark, hooded expression on Tony's face spoke volumes.

"Problem?" Gibbs asked mildly

"No problem, Boss," Tony's voice was dangerously smooth. "Is there, Katie?"

"Gibbs, I have a friend who specialises in counselling adults who were the victims of childhood abuse, I'm trying to persuade Tony to set up an appointment. I've already spoken to her and .." Kate blurted.

"Wait," Tony cut in sharply. "You've already spoken to her?"

"I didn't give her you name," Kate assured him. "I just gave her an outline of your situation."

Tony went utterly still.

"My _situation_?"

"Tony, if she's going to help you, she needs to know what we're dealing with here." Kate tried for reasonable.

"Really?" Tony took a step closer to her and lowered his voice. "And what _exactly_ are 'we' dealing with, Agent Todd?"

"DiNozzo." Gibbs warned.

He had no doubt that Tony could look out for himself. But he didn't want this to escalate into something they couldn't handle and he sure was hell didn't want to have to take disciplinary action against DiNozzo over this. For a second, he thought the younger man might defy him. As it was Tony kept his gaze locked with Kate's as he replied in a voice devoid of inflection.

"I'll be taking the rest of today as a personal day, Boss."

He didn't look at either of them as he left. Gibbs watched his retreating back until he was safely in the elevator before turning his attention to Kate. This wasn't the first time she'd misjudged something like this with DiNozzo. Looking down at her he raised a brow in disbelief.

"Gibbs," she easily read his expression. "This isn't one of his macho cop things, where he can have a few beers and a couple of women and sweep it all under the carpet. We both know Tony's usual coping methods aren't gong to work here. He needs professional help."

"I know" Gibbs started walking, swinging by his desk to pick up his gun, badge and coat.

"You do?" Kate blinked, hurrying a little to keep up. "So you'll get him to make an appointment?"

Gibbs stopped in the process of putting his gun on his belt, to stare at her incredulously. "Did he _look_ receptive to you, Agent Todd?" Without waiting for an answer, he pocketed his badge and put his coat over his arm and began to head for the elevator. "Call your friend and tell her that your co-worker will be contacting her when hell freezes over. Then get with McGee and go through every case that Brooker ever worked."

"Um, what exactly are we looking for, Boss?" McGee rose to his feet.

"Anything that will help us bury the bastard."

"Where are you going, Gibbs?"

"Out."

He hoped that DiNozzo hadn't had time to get too far ahead of him. Pulling out of the parking garage he scanned the traffic, weaving in and out of the lanes at his usual breakneck speed. Spotting Tony's Mustang pulled over at the side on the road, he screeched to a halt and was out of the car, scanning the area, until he spotted the figure retching by the bushes. Knowing Tony wouldn't appreciate company just yet, Gibbs waited until the gut wrenching sounds had ceased, before reaching back into the car and pulling out a bottle of water. As Tony sank back onto this knees he noticed a pair of brown leather shoes and a hand offering a damp handkerchief.

"Here."

Tony managed a quick, grateful, look before wiping face and mouth with the handkerchief. He thought about offering it back to Gibbs, but it was kind of gross now. So, he just put it in his pocket.

"I'll get it laundered for you, Boss."

"Drink."

Taking the offered bottle of water, Tony rinsed his mouth, turning his head to spit, before taking a long swallow. Neither of them mentioned the way his hand shook slightly. Closing his eyes, Tony tipped his head forward slightly, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth as he waited for the tremors to pass.

"You okay?"

Tony ignored the question as he heaved himself to his feet, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. He hated the taste of bile in his throat and his stomach was still threatening to return what little remained of his lunch. His shirt felt clammy with cold sweat and between his killer headache and his total exhaustion all he really wanted to do was lie down and sleep for a week. Instead, he managed to cover two or three feet in the direction of his car before he stumbled. The firm hand under his elbow, which kept him upright was no surprise, although, the arm that wrapped itself around his back seemed a little over protective.

"Boss, I can walk."

"Sure as hell looked like it," Gibbs wasn't agreeing as they headed towards his own car. "Get in."

Tony looked over at his pride and joy, abandoned by the roadside. Deciding that if there were any repercussions he could always blame his reaction on being light headed, he adopted his best pout.

"My car is worth three times what yours is."

"It insured?"

"Not the point Gibbs. No one in their right mind would just abandon a suitcase holding all that cash by the side of a public highway. You can't seriously expect me to just leave it there."

Gibbs gave him a look that quite plainly said he didn't give a rat's ass. "Its called parking, DiNozzo."

"No, parking has gates and CCTV cameras and men with big ugly dogs who eat car thieves," "Tony corrected. "Besides, do you _really_ want to listen to me whining for the next six months because someone stole my car _again_?"

"You try that, I'll kick your ass," Gibbs promised without heat, even as he steered DiNozzo towards the Mustang. "I'm driving."

"Ah, Boss," Tony began, reconsidering as he saw the genuine glare that Gibbs shot in his direction. Clearly he looked worse than he thought. Considering the rock and the hard place, Tony went for the lesser of two evils. After the day they had had, he didn't think his Boss would actually _try_ to kill him on the way home. And if he looked sufficiently pathetic he could probably shave a few G-force off the ride. "You'll need the keys."

As Tony struggled to fish the keys out of his pocket, Gibbs flipped open his cell phone. Tony was absurdly grateful that his Boss kept a firm grip on his arm, continuing to steady him, as he made the call. For some reason, his knees didn't seem to be doing all that great a job at holding him up. He listened absently as Gibbs gave McGee orders to come and pick up his car and instructions on where to find it. Then they got into the mustang and merged back into the traffic, Tony half watching as familiar landmarks sped by.

"I do have an apartment you know," He commented absently, when he realised where they were heading. "It has actual furniture and a widescreen TV and everything."

"I have furniture," Gibbs corrected. "And a widescreen TV is not 'everything'.

"As Abby would say, 'wash your mouth out," Tony smirked. "And when was the last time you actually sat on your couch?"

"I have a couch?"

"Funny, Boss," Tony looked out of the window at the passing scenery. "Don't be too hard on Kate. She meant well."

"You know what, DiNozzo? I don't give a rat's ass if she _meant_ well," Gibbs countered with sudden heat. "She screwed up. She should have asked first. Why the hell as you always so quick to forgive people?"

Tony turned his head to regard him seriously. "People, or my father?"

"The man broke your nose!" Gibbs protested.

"My father is a great business man," Tony tipped his head back slightly, avoiding eye contact. "His company provides a livelihood for hundreds of families. He offers his employees the best welfare packages in the state. His charitable foundation helps thousands of under privileged kids. The DiNozzo Empire is his life."

Gibbs manoeuvred in and out of traffic as he digested that. "Not his son."

"Not so as you'd notice," Tony agreed. "But the reason I forgave him is that I reckon he did me a favour. Don't get me wrong, I'd have loved spending the day on the golf course or jetting off to Monaco, meeting all those gorgeous women ..."

"You'd get bored." Gibbs scoffed.

"Maybe," Tony's voice held more doubt then Gibbs expected. "Maybe, if I didn't know better, I would have settled for that. I'd never had know what it was like to catch the bad guys, or save someone's life. All my friends would have been just as shallow as I was and prepared to sell me out for a quick buck, not people I trust with my life. And in twenty years I would have had nothing to show for it except a diseased liver and a string of trophy wives."

"And now?"

It took all of Gibbs control not to look at the younger man as he asked. There was a reason DiNozzo had chosen to have this difficult conversation in the car and Gibbs knew that if he pushed too far or too fast then Tony would just clam up. So, he feigned a nonchalance he didn't feel and kept his eyes on the road.

"Now, I know better."

"You sure, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as he turned into his driveway. Bringing the car to a halt he put on the parking brake, before glancing across, ensuring he had Tony's full attention. They weren't done with this yet. "Because if that's true, when Brooker started ragging on you, why the hell didn't you come to me?"


	21. Chapter 21

"Boss," Tony scrubbed a hand over his face. He could do this. "The thing is .."

He broke off as Gibbs' cell rang, demanding attention. His Boss did him the courtesy of checking the caller ID before making an apologetic face and flipping it open. Tony tipped his head back, not bothering to listen to his conversation with Director Morrow. He twisted his head slightly, trying unsuccessfully to get rid of a painful knot in his neck. His stomach muscles and throat ached from their recent abuse and his head was pounding. God, he was tired.

"DiNozzo!" Tony blinked, looking across at his Boss and noting the lines of concern in his expression with surprise. Judging by the rueful shake of his head Gibbs had already tried to attract his attention more than once. "C'mon .."

Following his Boss's lead, Tony climbed wearily out of the car, watched as Gibbs carefully locked the Mustang, and then fell into step behind the ex-Marine as he led the way up the path to the front door. As they entered the hallway, Tony automatically toed off his shoes, catching his foot slightly and having to put his hand on the wall to steady himself.

"Go take a bath." Gibbs ordered. "And then get some rest. We can do this later."

"Gibbs ..."

"DiNozzo, go," Gibbs ordered not unkindly. "It'll keep."

Feeling absurdly grateful for his Boss' mind reading skills, Tony dragged himself upstairs and turned on the faucet, watching the hot water begin to fill the room with steam, before tossing in a handful of those bath salts Abby had bought last Christmas for good measure. A bath and a good shot of mouthwash made lots of things feel better. Wrapping a towel around his waist, Tony padded across the landing to the spare room and looked longingly at the King sized bed with the crisp, clean, sheets and big, soft, comforter. Pulling back the covers, Tony crawled under and stretched out in blissful pleasure.

When he woke the room was in darkness, lit solely by the thin sliver of light from the landing. He seriously considered just rolling over and going back to sleep. But the pressure in his bladder urged him up. Rummaging in the dresser he dug out the sweats and t-shirt he kept here. As he emerged from the bathroom he caught the rich, thick, smell of roast turkey drifting up the staircase. With a smile he padded downstairs.

"Did I sleep 'till Thanksgiving?"

"Wasn't sure you were going to wake up at all."

"Sorry," Tony shrugged awkwardly. "I guess I haven't been sleeping all that well lately."

"Sit."

"Right," Tony murmured as he slid into place. "Eat first. Deathbed confessions later."

Gibbs ignored him as he put two full plates on the table and took his own place. They both chewed companionably for a while, satisfying that first edge of hunger, before Tony spoke quietly.

"I didn't come to you, becaue I was afraid."

His Boss didn't look up. Didn't even pause between mouthfuls, as he answered, for which Tony was absurdly grateful.

"Afraid of what?"

"Of getting too comfortable. Its not like I haven't had that kind of hazing before. The rich kid born with the silver spoon in his mouth, who wants to be a big bad cop on mean city streets? I might as well paint a sign on my forehead. I knew if I told you about Brooker you'd take care of it. The guy would be out of there so fast his head would spin."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It wasn't something I wanted to get used to," Tony admitted. "I hadn't been at NCIS all that long. I figured a couple of years and I'd be moving on. And if I got too used to having people watching my six it would be too hard to go back to the way things had been when I just had to suck it up and deal."

"And now?"

"Now I know Ducky would talk rings around anyone who so much as tried to look at me funny, McGee would bamboozle them with geek speak, and Abby would hold them down while Kate kicked their ass."

"Took you 'till now to learn that, DiNozzo?"

"I also learnt not all fathers abandon their kids."

Gibbs speared a piece of carrot on his fork and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly, before swallowing and looking up to meet Tony's gaze with pride and affection.

"Dammed straight."

* * *

The residential street was in darkness, the occupants of each modest, but well tended, property, long since retired for the night. Steven Brooker was asleep in his bed, when he woke to the feeling that someone was in the room with him.

"What the ..?"

He reached for the gun under his pillow, only to scrabble about in fear as his hand met empty space. Then in the darkness an all too familiar sound of a firearm being cocked cut through the still night air.

"Looking for this, Stevie-boy?" In the second that Brooker registered that voice, his eyes were squinting shut as the room was flooded with light. Forcing them painfully open he saw Tony DiNozzo pointing his own weapon at him.

"How did you get in here?"

"Gibbs. He knows all kind of useful stuff," Tony smirked. "And he's actually a pretty sharing kind of guy. Not that you'd know this. He never really liked you."

"You're bluffing." Brooker protested. Not wanting to believe Gibbs was actually here.

"Nope," Brooker's breath caught in his throat as Gibbs stepped into the light. "He's right. Never did like you much."

"What are you doing here? You can't do this," Brooker stuttered nervously. "Its harassment. Or intimidation. I could have your badges for this."

"I don't see any witnesses," Gibbs countered. "You see any witnesses, Tony?"

"Not a one, Boss."

"Someone will have seen you," Brooker gabbled as Gibbs advanced until he was looming over him. "There'll be someone who saw your car, someone who noticed you sneaking around the place."

"Someone to hear you scream?" Tony suggested innocently.

"Yes," Brooker grasped at straws. "No!"

"I'm a Marine," Gibbs spoke very quietly, his breath falling in little puffs on Brooker's face, as he leaned in. "I'm not seen unless I want to be seen. And I train my people the same way."

"You can't touch me. If anything happens to me you'd be the main suspects."

"You don't think I'd be stupid enough to do it myself?" Gibbs smiled dangerously. "I know people who can kill you with their bare hands and never leave a mark. And they owe me."

"Meanwhile, we'd be tucked up someplace else, with a nice, solid, alibi." Tony added.

"This is just a friendly warning," Gibbs assured him. "I just became your worst nightmare. If you ever do anything to hurt any of my people, or anyone else, ever again, I will take each and every injury that you inflicted on DiNozzo and pay it back ten-fold. And there is no place on earth that you can hide from me. Whenever, wherever, I will find you."

Brooker swallowed hard over his suddenly dry mouth. He had absolutely no doubt that the ex-marine meant what he said.

"There's going to be a disciplinary hearing. I'll probably lose my job maybe even serve some time. Isn't that enough?"

Gibbs thought about the physical and emotional pain Tony had suffered because of this man. He thought about the way his senior field agent had been made to relive past hurts and still stepped up to the plate to try and save Gibbs' reputation. About what Tony had been prepared to lay on the line for his sake and all because of this man. And he hated Brooker with more passion than he had felt for anyone since the bastard would murdered his wife and daughter.

"Not even close."

* * *

Brooker looked at his options and decided that he had no choice.

He ran.

The following day he closed up his house and posted his letter of resignation. Within hours he has a false passport, a new identity and an almost empty bank account. It took three planes and four connections, until he finally reached a small remote town. Everything he valued was crammed into a single backpack. Anything else was left behind. The first six months he spent looking over his shoulder, taking work where he could find it, moving on every few weeks. After a year, he began to feel safe. He found a small village by the sea. He rented a house and found a job in a bar, took up with a local woman. It was hard and dirty life, living hand to mouth, never really feeling safe, but it sure beat the alternative.

Early one morning he went for a run on the beach, sweat pooling down between his shoulder blades as his T-shirt stuck to his back. On his way home he turned a corner and ran smack into the most hideous Hawaiian shirt he had ever seen in his life. Scowling, he glanced up at the tourist, who was clearly either lost, or looking to get himself killed, if he had wandered into this particular neighbourhood. And his jaw went slack.

"Surprise."

Anthony DiNozzo flashed him his best megawatt smile, just before he drew back his fist and Brooker's world exploded into a mess of red, as his nose spread across his face. Clutching at his pain, he went to his knees, as DiNozzo's face loomed in over him.

"Just a little reminder, Stevie-boy, whenever, wherever."

As Brooker struggled to stem the blood loss, he registered a familiar dry chuckle, and a shadow fell across him as another figure stepped up beside DiNozzo

"Nice technique."

"I've been practising."

The two men turned away, leaving Brooker writhing on the sidewalk in their wake, as they walked Gibbs shot his senior field Agent an amused look. Tony's features were carefully controlled, but Gibbs knew better.

"How's the hand?"

"I think I broke it." Tony admitted after a moment.

"C'mon," Gibbs slapped him on the shoulder. "We'll find a bar that's open. You can call Ziva and tell her we'll be back in DC tomorrow. I'll buy you a beer and you can stick your hand in a bucket of ice. Be good as new in no time."

"Thanks, Boss."

The odd note in Tony's voice caused Gibbs to give him a sideways look. DiNozzo had come to a halt and, as if on impulse, reached out and hugged Gibbs briefly before stepping back awkwardly.

"Its just a beer, DiNozzo," Gibbs countered with fond amusement. "What will you do if I add in pretzels?"

"I meant," DiNozzo shrugged. "For everything."

That stopped Gibbs in his tracks, as he caught the underlying note of raw sincerity in the younger man's voice. To his immense pride and satisfaction Tony met his gaze unwaveringly, letting his love and loyalty shine in his expression.

"Everything, huh?" Gibbs started walking again. "In that case, you're welcome. And you're buying."

He waited until they had gone another block, before reaching out and, instead of delivering the expected head slap, comprehensively mussed DiNozzo's hair, letting a heartfelt grin blossom across his face as the younger man yipped in protest.

"Boss, not the hair!"

And for the rest of his natural life Steven Brooker never rested, never stayed in one place too long and never dared to stop looking over his shoulder.

* * *

AN – That's it, finally the end. This has been the longest story I have written to date and by far the most difficult. There have been times when I have wrestled with it, hated it and almost wanted to give up on it, so I would like to thank each and everyone of you who stayed the course with me, offering your support and encouragement, some days your kind words were the only things that kept me coming back to this plotline. I thought long and hard about how to end it and just couldn't see Gibbs being satisfied with conventional justice. I very much doubt I'll ever feel like writing a sequel to this, but I do have other ways of putting Tony and Gibbs through the wringer in mind. 


End file.
